IM Properties pledges new spec build to capitalise on M42 Corridor demand

IM Properties has announced it is to speculatively build a 15,000 sq ft self-contained office building to capitalise on demand for accommodation in the M42 corridor.

The development, dubbed FIRST, will be built at Blythe Valley Park alongside the 15,000 sq ft Prologis pre-let IMP agreed last year.

IMP’s in-house project delivery team will be responsible for the new development.

IMP said momentum at Blythe Valley Park had been building and over the past six months the company has signed deals with Rybrook Holdings (15,000 sq ft pre-let) and PKF Cooper Parry (17,810 sq ft at its £5m-refurbished One Central Boulevard).

Planning permission is already in place for the new building, which should be ready for occupation by Q1 2018.

Lewis Payne, IMP’s development director, said: “This isn’t a leap of faith for IMP, just a simple reflection of the demand at Blythe, which has seen occupiers voting with their feet and signing up to the location.

“If ever there was a case for spec building, Blythe Valley Park has presented it to us and what we want to deliver to the market is equally bold, with not just a new building but statement offices to attract the same level of occupier that we’ve seen drawn to the park over the past year.”

To support the park’s offer, IMP has installed a 1,500 sq ft Java Lounge coffee shop on the site.

Ashley Hancox, CBRE’s Birmingham-based national head of offices, said: “It’s a long time since we’ve had speculative office construction along the M42 Corridor. Demand is currently high for out-of-town offices driven by a lack of quality stock and so we share in IMP’s conviction that the time is right to develop speculatively.”