Colmore Plaza sold in £140m deal

BIRMINGHAM city centre office building Colmore Plaza has been sold by the Carlyle Group to AshbyCapital in a deal understood to be worth £140m.

As the city centre investment market continues to attract a feverish level of interest, London-based AshbyCapital swooped to acquire a building which is both in the business district and close to developments around Snow Hill.

It is its first investment outside London and the largest deal in the Birmingham property market this year.

Colmore Plaza, in Colmore Circus Queensway,  is a 310,000 sq ft office building where occupiers include Amey, AHR and Vodafone. It is around two thirds full.

AshbyCapital is understood to have plans to increase occupancy through repositioning and asset management of the building.

Peter Ferrari, its chief executive, said: “The limited supply of Grade A office buildings in Birmingham, the improving transport links through HS2 and the expansion of companies such as Deutsche Bank and HSBC in the city mean prospects for high quality buildings such as Colmore Plaza are very promising.”

Nicky Barker, associate director at The Carlyle Group, added: “Having secured a number of new leases at Colmore Plaza, we are delighted to complete this sale to AshbyCapital in what is one of the largest regional deals of the year so far.”

Cushman & Wakefield advised The Carlyle Group while AshbyCapital was advised by JLL.