A major Birmingham commercial property transaction marks the turning point for the city investment market, it has been claimed.
Baskerville House, a former civic building at the heart of the city centre, was sold to Hermes Real Estate Investment Management for £40.5m at the end of 2012. The property attracted several 100 per cent equity bids.
Ed Gamble, a senior director on the capital markets team of the Birmingham office of CBRE, took charge of the sale of the building for administrator Deloitte.
Mr Gamble stated that more than half of the bidders for the property had no existing assets in Birmingham.
One interested party was from the Middle East, another was American, and two were overseas investors. UK funds and property companies also submitted bids to acquire Baskerville House.
Mr Gamble said; “This deal illustrates a sea-change in the way investors are viewing the regional property market.
“Investors are finally waking up to the lack of office development and the absorption of Grade A office stock in Birmingham: the bottom of the occupation market is now in sight.
“The fact we are getting newcomers to the regional property scene is also encouraging. And who said that overseas investors were focusing only on London? They’re wrong.”
Mr. Gamble went on to point out that Birmingham currently has “trophy assets and coveted tenants”
CBRE has also sold Monkspath Business Park, which is a multi-let industrial estate in Solihull, for £18.25m. Cornerstone Advisers bought the property, which is made up of 41 units on 22.3 acres, from Schroder Property Investment Management.
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