Property investor completes first major office deal of 2018
Property investor LGIM Real Assets has secured Birmingham’s first major office deal of the New Year.
The property investment arm of insurer Legal & General is the developer behind the major refurbishment of the former Lewis’s department store in the city centre.
The £20m refurbishment, which completed last year, delivered circa 113,000 sq ft of contemporary Grade A office space across seven floors – including a new 12,400 sq ft top floor extension.
LGIM Real Assets has now struck a deal with flexible workspace provide, Regus, for 32,000 sq ft of space.
Regus has signed up a 12-year lease on the ground, first and second floors of The Lewis Building at £26.00 per sq ft. Regus will join existing operator, the Ministry of Justice, which already occupies the third floor.
This leaves 62,000 sq ft available for let.
Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace solutions, and the network includes almost 3,000 business centres, spanning nearly 900 cities across 120 countries. The facility within The Lewis Building base will operate under the premium SPACES brand.
Tom Williams, Senior Asset Manager, LGIM Real Assets, said: “Our investment in the renovation of this flagship building has paid dividends, attracting occupiers looking for contemporary, quality office space at the heart of Birmingham.
“We are pleased to welcome the Regus brand to The Lewis Building and we are in active discussions around the remaining space.”
He said further occupier announcements would be made in due course.
Set behind a classic Portland Stone façade, the remodelling of the existing space has created floorplates of up to 17,000 sq ft – some of the largest in the city’s business district.
