Estate management company appointed to industrial conversion in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

An historic foundry in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter that was converted into nearly 100 apartments is to be looked after by Principle Estate Management.

The contract to manage the Grade II-listed Derwent Foundry, which dates from the Edwardian era, has come from Simarc Property Management.

Principle already manages multiple sites for Simarc, including apartments each worth around £3m in a block at Acre House in Covent Garden, London.

Derwent Foundry, situated just off St Paul’s Square and fronting Mary Ann Street, was built in 1903 for Taylor and Challen, which cast presses for the minting of coins and produced other castings for the jewellery and light engineering trades until the 1970s.

After lying derelict for three decades, it was converted into 98 apartments in a £23m project in the late 2000s.

One of the reasons behind the building’s importance is a claim that its architecture reflects the work of Peter Behrens, the German designer and precursor of the Bauhaus movement.

Brett Williams, managing director of Principle, said: “We’re thrilled to have been appointed to manage Derwent House, which is well known as a prominent building in the Jewellery Quarter.”