News
Commercial property forum working closely with Business Birmingham
March 2011
Members of the Birmingham Office Market Forum (BOMF) have marked the launch of the fourth office space map at a networking breakfast event at the city's Opus restaurant, with key speaker Neil Rami, chief executive of Marketing Birmingham. The map, which is part of an ongoing initiative by BOMF, provides an essential update on office market activity that has taken place throughout the previous year, as well as giving an overview of the range and quality of Birmingham's office stock.
Bringing together some of the key business and property players from across Birmingham, the networking event also saw members welcoming Jan Thompson to the position of new chairman of the Forum.
Jan is head of Jones Lang LaSalle's Birmingham office and as a Director of their Corporate Solutions team is active in the Birmingham office market. He has been appointed following the chairmanship of Philippa Pickavance, head of Agency Midlands at Drivers Jonas Deloitte, Birmingham, who has held the position for the last two years.
Pickavance highlighted some of the aims of the group;" I am delighted that the Forum have joined Marketing Birmingham as an Associate Member this year so we can move forwards with them to provide consistent property detail and wider assistance for relocating companies". She continued:
"We have long wanted the City to have one Business voice and working with Business Birmingham has moved us closer to achieving that aim"
Commenting on his appointment, Jan said: "I would like to thank Philippa for the great work that she has undertaken and the strong foundation that has been laid over what have been two extremely challenging years. Throughout the last year we have seen the beginnings of a recovery in the Birmingham office market, set against a backdrop that has seen many cities, including Birmingham report a sharp drop-off in rents.
"Much of this is a testament to the city's outstanding level of high-quality and diverse office stock which includes iconic developments such as The Cube, Baskerville House and One Snowhill. There are also a number of extremely exciting developments already in the pipeline, including Two Snowhill, and I am looking forward to seeing them come to fruition and further enhance the city's reputation as a centre for outstanding office property."
Major office completions in 2010 included The Cube, with 68,150 sq ft remaining to let, Zellig, with 36,000 sq ft remaining to let and 40 St Paul's Square, which has 10,418 sq ft remaining to be let. Throughout 2010 deals were completed totalling over 668,000 sq ft of office space.
The year ahead will see limited new build due to the economic climate, but work is expected to be completed on Two Snowhill, where 70,000 sq ft is still available, in late 2012 or early 2013.
Neil Rami, Chief Executive of Marketing Birmingham, which manages Business Birmingham, the city's inward investment programme, talked about its success since launching in October last year.
He said: "Business Birmingham has been working to raise the city's international visibility and promote an understanding of its sectoral strengths, market and opportunities with potential investors globally over the last 6 months.
"Over the coming months our investment programme will promote the city's unique proposition and work with the business community to develop the support services needed to help investors quickly locate and grow here. Working with UKTI as well as sales agents and intermediaries across global markets, we will build investor recognition of Birmingham as a place to do business and ensure the city is on the location lists of those looking for a European hub."
Formed in 2007, the Birmingham Office Marketing Forum works in conjunction with the CoStar Group, who sponsored the networking event, the leading provider of information services to commercial real estate professionals, provides a platform for members to share insights and provide an agreed analysis of statistics relating to the city centre office market.