(Updated on 24 April to add a Government comment.)
Two prominent Birmingham offices are jostling to win the Government Property Agency’s circa 150,000-square-foot requirement in the West Midlands, as Whitehall continues its drive to redistribute jobs across the country.
CoStar News understands that Three Snowhill and 10 Brindleyplace are leading the race to house the mega office requirement, which is likely to see hundreds of staff brought into the centre of Birmingham.
The properties, both based in the central business district, are the frontrunners on a list of four or five properties proposed to the GPA. Kier Property’s 19 Cornwall Street is also understood to be a contender. BNP Paribas Real Estate is leading the process, after it was appointed as the GPA's strategic partner for national property and property-related financial services in June 2022.
Three Snowhill, owned by M&G Real Estate, provides 395,642 square feet of Grade A office space in the centre of Birmingham. The building, constructed in 2019, houses telecoms firm BT, which occupies 283,540 square feet across several floors. It moved into the building in January 2021.
Owned by CBRE Investment Management, 10 Brindleyplace provides 213,064 square feet of office accommodation and backs on to the city canal. It already hosts flex office operator Spacemade, which occupies around 25,000 square feet, along with NatWest.
The other known property on the GPA's list is Kier's 19 Cornwall Street. It has a net internal area of 132,903 square feet and also sits within the CBD. It is undergoing an extensive refurbishment to provide Grade A accommodation, with an on-site cafe and roof terrace.
The GPA’s Birmingham office requirement was originally larger. CoStar News reported in October 2021 that it was close to agreeing a deal for 200,000 square feet at Kier Property’s 5 Centenary Square development. But the agency backpedalled on the requirement just a year later, reportedly dropping its search to around 150,000 square feet.
Should a new deal for around 150,00 square feet be agreed, it will be one of the largest Birmingham office lettings of the past five years, signifying a huge vote of confidence for the city.
Efforts to open this large office in the centre of Birmigham are part of an ongoing Government directive to spread civil service roles across the regions, feeding into its Levelling Up agenda. Last July, it opened a new hub hosting 20 departments at 23 Stephenson Street, opposite New Street Station. The 120,000-square-foot office can accommodate around 1,700 civil servants.
The Government is aiming to relocate more than 2,100 roles across the West Midlands by 2025 to Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton. In June 2022, the GPA appointed BNP Paribas Real Estate on a three-year contract to help with its plans to consolidate its office space in UK towns and cities.
JLL was appointed the GPA's strategic partner for workplace services performance in February 2023, but is not involved in the group's Birmingham office search.
A government spokesperson said: "We are exploring a number of potential sites across the country to become Civil Service Hubs to support our programme to move 22,000 civil service roles out of London by 2030. No decision on these have been taken and we will announce any plans via the usual process."
BNP Paribas Real Estate was approached for comment. CBRE IM and M&G Real Estate did not comment.