In a major commitment to the Birmingham city centre office market and the UK regions, Goldman Sachs signed a lease to take 110,000-square-foot office at One Centenary Way in the centre of Birmingham, which won it a CoStar Investment award.
The US bank will house more than 1,000 staff over the coming years in the building at the heart of MEPC’s £1.2 billion Paradise Birmingham development.
Goldman said that in its first year, teams based in Birmingham have already been leading on global projects and innovations for the firm, making significant commercial contributions.
Gurjit Jagpal, managing director and head of the Birmingham office at Goldman Sachs, said the quality, depth and breadth of Birmingham’s talent pool has "exceeded expectations" and that the new office space will be "perfectly suited to our collaboration, flexibility and growth requirements in the years ahead.''
What the judges said: Rachel Lister, the director of Thomas Lister, said: "The lease transaction has secured a myriad of benefits for the city, over and above those that are potentially deliverable by the other contenders. The scheme has high green credentials in terms of construction materials and fit out and the letting to Goldman Sachs demonstrates that there is appetite in the market for this type of product. Other impacts generated by the letting include new inward investment and additionality in terms of jobs created. This will deliver considerable growth and increased GDP to the city and wider region. The presence of Goldman Sachs will also present a positive message that Birmingham is prime location for the financial services sector outside of London, which may be catalytic in attracting further investment from the sector and wider supply chain."
Katie Parsons, the director of RCA Regeneration, said: "The Goldman Sachs lease shows a significant long-term commitment to the Birmingham City Centre office market. Such a large and long lease by such a high profile company is an important, high-impact milestone for the Paradise Birmingham."
Andy Philips, the head of research at the West Mindlands Growth Centre, said: "It's a massive vote of confidence in the region as [a] financial services centre."
They made it happen: Kelvin Craddock, director, national office agency at JLL; Charles Toogood, national head of office at Avison Young; William Ventham at head of Midlands Office, CBRE.