Balfour Beatty lands Wolves scheme a week after rejecting Carillion merger

CONSTRUCTION firm Balfour Beatty has been appointed to a multi-million pound Wolverhampton regeneration scheme – just a week after it scrapped plans for a merger with city-based rival Carillion.

Balfour Beatty will work with Neptune Developments to design and construct Interchange 10, a major office and retail development which forms part of Wolverhampton City Council’s £139m Interchange project.

The appointment is ironic given the construction giant’s reluctance to commit to the merger, which would have created a construction partnership worth around £3bn.

The Interchange scheme is being built close to Wolverhampton bus and railway stations and comprises six retail units on the ground floor as well as three upper levels of office space. Work is due to begin in September with completion expected in late 2015.

Once complete, Interchange 10 will provide the first Grade A office space in the city centre and also be the most energy efficient building in Wolverhampton.

Pubco Greene King has already announced it will open a Hungry Horse pub restaurant on the ground floor of the new building – creating 50 full and part time local jobs – and the city council said negotiations with two other businesses interested in moving into the development were at an advanced stage.

Interchange 10 forms a key part of the wider Interchange scheme, led by the city council in partnership with Neptune, Centro, Network Rail, Virgin Trains and the Canal and River Trust aimed at rejuvenating the city’s transport infrastructure and local retail and leisure facilities.

It is hoped the scheme could create more than 1,000 direct jobs and attract major inward investment to the city.

Cllr Peter Bilson, Wolverhampton’s cabinet member for Economic Regeneration and Prosperity, said: “The appointment of Balfour Beatty to design and construct Interchange 10 is a major milestone in the redevelopment of this key site.

“The wider Interchange is a main gateway to the city centre and is therefore a strategic regeneration priority for the council.”

Jon Adams, Balfour Beatty Delivery Unit Managing Director, Northern Major Projects, said; “We are delighted to have been awarded this landmark development in Wolverhampton city centre.

“Balfour Beatty has extensive experience in delivering retail and office developments having constructed Snowhill in Birmingham and recently being awarded the Barons Quay scheme in Northwich. I look forward to working with Neptune Developments and Wolverhampton City Council to bring our expertise to Wolverhampton.”

The city council is investing a total of £10.6m in the Interchange scheme. As well as the development of Interchange 10, it has also acquired the leases for the neighbouring Victoria Square – home to Sainsbury’s Local – and Queens Building, and has converted unoccupied first floor space into a quality office development.

The first phase of the Interchange programme, comprising the new bus station, access improvements to the railway station, the creation of the Victoria Square and the refurbishment of the Queens Building was completed in 2012. Planners gave Interchange 10 the go ahead in March this year.

“We have had a great deal of interest in Interchange 10 from a number of different companies which demonstrates a great deal of confidence in this significant scheme,” added Cllr Bilson.

Rob Mason, Development Director at Neptune, said: “Starting work on this important development will help maintain the momentum of the overall Interchange project and send out a strong message that Wolverhampton city centre is a place to locate to.”