Prominent Birmingham site sold in £3.2m deal

A prominent retail and office complex in the heart of Birmingham has been sold in a £3.275m deal involving award-winning commercial property experts Bromwich Hardy.

The building at 34-36 Bennetts Hill and 38 Waterloo Street – home to the likes of brewer Marstons, food and drink retailer AF Blakemore and handmade food specialists Philpotts – has been sold to a private pension fund represented by Bromwich Hardy partner Tom Bromwich.

Tom said the sale price for the 10,800 sq ft site – which currently realises a total annual rent of just over £200,000 and would give an initial yield of 5.79 per cent – reflected the strength of Birmingham as an investment centre.

“Birmingham is being transformed by record levels of development and is now a highly attractive investment proposition, with a regional economy worth some £110bn and an enhanced profile both nationally and internationally.

“There is still a lack of quality office stock in the city which is helping to drive a strong surge in demand and also contributing to ongoing rental growth, forecast to continue for at least the next five years.

“This property represented an ideal opportunity for our client with its prime city centre location and we are delighted to have secured it for them.”

The property, which was extensively refurbished last year, consists of ground floor and basement retail and four upper floors of offices.

The sale, on behalf of the family trust freeholder and long leaseholder City and Provincial Equity Partners respectively, was handled by Sampson Moore and Knight Frank.

Coventry-based Bromwich Hardy has just been named the most active agent in Warwickshire by leading trade publication Estates Gazette for the sixth year running.