GVA assists the AA in Oldbury expansion

The Midlands office of property adviser GVA has secured a significant lease extension for the AA at its Oldbury offices for a further 10 years.

A multidisciplinary team led by the Lease Consultancy and Corporate Solutions departments negotiated a new lease at Swallowfield One in Oldbury, enabling the AA to expand into the full 111,000 sq ft building.

Half of the building was previously sub-let to British Gas prior to the closure of the energy services provider’s Oldbury operation.

This is the latest work that GVA has undertaken for The AA as part of a longstanding relationship that has seen them retained for over 10 years as property advisers on the company’s real estate portfolio.

Chris Norcup, Director with GVA’s Lease Consultancy team, said: “Centrica’s departure presented the AA with an opportunity to review its operation and consider its long-term plans. The decision to remain in the building, coupled with the commitment to expand into the full 110,000 sq ft, provides some fantastic opportunities for the business to develop its operations while providing additional local employment opportunities.”

Located just off the A4123 Wolverhampton Road and less than a mile from Junction 2 of the M5, Swallowfield One is the centre of the AA’s road operations and is home to a call centre and offices.

Jon Ellis, Head of Property and facilities at The AA, said: “We’ve been working with GVA for some time at a number of our properties and we’re exceedingly pleased with the negotiations that they’ve completed for us at Oldbury. This location is already home to our main call centre with a great location close to the national motorway network.

“The increase in parking provision and new office areas mean that we can now fulfil our ambition to create a centre of excellence here, hopefully leading to further job creation in the local area.”

Highlighting GVA’s flexible multi-disciplinary approach, the completion of the deal has included input from a number of business units, including the recently launched Corporate Solutions team, which works with many large, blue-chip and multi-site organisations to provide a comprehensive real estate management service.