Creative hub to be re-launched in Digbeth

Oval Real Estate is ready to re-launch The Bond – a creative content hub which aims to become a focal point for television, film and all digital content production.

Part of the Digbeth Estate, The Bond on Fazeley Street will comprise of five main structures which provide 55,000 sq ft for businesses of all sizes, including event spaces, screening rooms, pod rooms, canal-side studios and its own wharf.

Oval, working with Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and Create Central, has partnered with Birmingham designers and architects to reimagine The Bond from its industrial origins as an Ice Factory, HP Sauce Factory and a Bonded Warehouse before spending 30 years derelict.

The Bond’s relaunch in February is set to harness the embodied carbon of the older building whilst introducing modern technology.
 
The BBC is set to open its new broadcast centre in the area in 2026, a move which will also see MasterChef set up home in Digbeth in 2024. Steven Knight’s proposed film studio and HS2 will also be joining Digbeth soon.      
 
The Bond will also be available for event hire, offering spaces suitable for a variety of events ranging from screenings, conferences, film shoots and award ceremonies.
 
James Craig, founder of Oval Real Estate, said: “Specialising in spaces sometimes overlooked, we aim to leave buildings and neighbourhoods better than we found them, and as custodians of the Digbeth Estate, we are working with West Midlands Combined Authority and Birmingham City Council to deliver meaningful change in Digbeth by continuing the careful transformation of the area. 

“We are looking forward to revealing the Creative Content Hub at The Bond in 2023. As the Midlands’ newest production hub, The Bond will be an epicentre for film, media and tech within the growing Digbeth community.

“The revival of the Bond serves as a reminder that Birmingham can turn its hand to anything; taking landmarks from the Industrial Revolution and making them relevant for the Digital Revolution. Something Birmingham can be rightly proud of.”
 
Create Central Chair, Ed Shedd, said, “When Create Central was launched in 2019, the Members pitched the idea of a content hub – it’s so exciting to see real, tangible results from all the industry’s hard work paying off.

“The Creative Content Hub will be a huge catalyst to kick-start the sector post-pandemic. It is just one of the many ways the West Midlands is at the forefront of developing new ways of working that will re-invent and future-proof traditional television, film and wider digital content production.”