The Cube has pulled off the biggest commercial office deal of the year in Birmingham, after persuading the Solicitors Regulation Authority to make the unique building its new headquarters.
The SRA, which controls solicitors across England and Wales, has been looking at a number of city centre commercial properties, including Nurton’s 2 Colmore Square, before eventually selecting the Ken Shuttleworth-designed scheme at the back of the Mailbox.
Some 700 staff from both the Midlands Law Society and the SRA, currently working in three commercial offices based across two sites in Leamington Spa and Redditch, will occupy 57,000 sq ft of the landmark commercial building next summer.
The arrangement means that the entire 12,000 sq ft of commercial office space at the Cube has now been let with the SRA joining the Highways Agency which moved into the building previous.
In spite of the scheme being taken into administration in March 2010 by its principle funders Lloyds, the mixed use scheme has been an unquestionable success story, by not only let all its commercial space, but it has also sold the majority of its apartments and attracted a hotel with club and spa, an Adee Phelan salon a Marco Pierre White restaurant.
Nick Edginton, a former director for the scheme’s original developer Birmingham Development Company and who was kept on to complete the project and find tenants by administrators PwC, said the SRA letting vindicated the original vision for the Cube.
He said: “For me it shows the worth of bringing in someone like Ken Shuttleworth to design something completely different for the city which has really got people talking and ultimately driven inward investment into the city.”
He further added: “If you look at the Marco Pierre White deal, they came to the city because of the Cube. Now we’re delighted to welcome the Law Society and the SRA to what we firmly believe is Birmingham’s best business address.”
The past 12 months have been predominantly challenging for the property community and while the number of deals is up year on year, there have been very little above 20,000 sqft in the city centre making this the largest in the city core in 2011 by some distance.
John Griffiths, from GBR Phoenix Beard, who were joint agents with DTZ for the Cube, while Knight Frank represented the Law Society and SRA-said the deal was great news for the Cube and the city’s commercial office market in general.
He commented: “I think there are certainly difficulties in delivering a truly mixed use building but the market likes the mixed use environment and if anyone is looking for an endorsement from an occupier point of view then this is it.”
He further added: “It has been one of the most challenging years that any of us have seen but a fantastic way to finish it.”
The SRA, established in 2007, controls more than 120,000 solicitors in England and Wales and offers guidance to help them act within the code of conduct. Even though the Law Society is the independent professional body, established for solicitors in 1852, that works worldwide to support and represent its members.
CEO of the Law Society, Desmond Hudson, said: “Consolidating our four current Midlands buildings and all out Midlands-based staff together, under one roof will reduce our costs, make us more effective and more efficient.”
“The Cube offers us a better, greener and more centrally located working environment, topped with first class transport links. The move to Birmingham city centre demonstrates our long-standing commitment to the West Midlands,” Mr Hudson added.
Chief executive of the SRA, Antony Townsend added: “The Cube offers us excellent facilities in the heart of Birmingham city centre to consolidate our position as the principal regulator of legal services, and to attract high-quality staff from a diverse population.”
