Blue Marble Asset Management (Blue Marble) has acquired a 31,000 sq ft office building with development land in Solihull.
Acting on behalf of Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC), Edward Jones, Investment Director at Birmingham-based real estate asset management company Blue Marble, acquired the freehold of Stratford Court, Cranmore Boulevard, Solihull, B90 4QT for £6.1 million. Blue Marble and WFDC were advised by the Birmingham office of Savills. Lewis Ellis advised the vendor.
Stratford Court is a multi-let office building providing 30,694 sq ft of open plan accommodation over three floors, let to six tenants, located on Cranmore Boulevard close to Stratford Road, one of the main arterial routes into Birmingham city centre. There is also an expired planning consent to build two office buildings, totalling 19,911 sq ft, on the site.
Wyre Forest District Council made the purchase as part of its ongoing plans to generate income to support local services.
Councillor Marcus Hart, Leader of Wyre Forest District Council says: “The council adopted its Capital Portfolio Strategy in 2017 as part of its plans to invest up to £25m in developing its own assets or acquiring new properties. This new acquisition reaffirms the council’s commitment to supporting economic growth as a partner in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership as well as generating vital income for the council to invest in delivering services to the residents of Wyre Forest.”
Mr Jones says: “Demand for office accommodation in Solihull has been very strong in recent years, meaning that accommodation in the Solihull office market is at an all time low which is having a positive impact on rental growth. Combined with the property displaying all of the right property fundamentals, means this an ideal property for us to apply our asset management skills to create a good long term income producing investment for our client.”
“The property also benefits from two areas of undeveloped land and this will allow us to explore some further value add initiatives. In addition to identifying properties in which we can grow the revenue streams, we also look for strong defensive qualities in a property. Subsequently, we believe that Stratford Court would lend itself to a variety of alternative high uses values in the future, which is an important factor for the likes of local authority investors who, in addition to seeking revenue, will also seek to protect their capital and improve liquidity once it has been invested.
“We are presently working with a number of local authorities, helping them navigate the nuances of property investments for their strategic investment funds,” concludes Mr Jones.
