Bruntwood SciTech reveals investment plans for city centre hub
Bruntwood SciTech has announced plans to transform one of its Birmingham city centre hubs to enhance tenant wellbeing and experience.
Cornerblock will undergo a significant refurbishment to its communal spaces.
Estilo Interiors will deliver a new reception area, break-out areas and meeting spaces as well as adding a studio and cardio gym, a secure bike store with maintenance stations, and refurbished changing rooms. Work is due to commence in February and will complete in April.
The plans follow Bruntwood SciTech’s announcement in October 2023 of a £500m commitment to support the the UK’s innovation economy and welcomed the UK’s largest local authority pension fund, Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) into the partnership alongside existing partners Bruntwood and Legal & General which made an additional significant increase in investment, through cash and asset transfer.
It’s aiming to create a £5bn UK-wide portfolio that can support 2,600 high-growth businesses by 2032, with Birmingham named as a priority.
Rob Valentine, Regional Director – West Midlands for Bruntwood SciTech, commented: “Work starting at Cornerblock builds on the momentum gained during Bruntwood SciTech’s recent investment, as we move ahead with our increased commitment to Birmingham focused on creating spaces for innovation-led businesses to connect, collaborate, and grow. Cornerblock has the benefit of being situated at the heart of Birmingham’s important central business district, ideally positioning it to attract global, market-leading companies.
“Businesses also have the opportunity to connect into Bruntwood SciTech’s ecosystem of science and technology businesses that are at the forefront of many of the innovations of today, both at our other Birmingham locations – such as Innovation Birmingham, Birmingham Health Innovation Campus and the Cornwall Buildings, and across the UK. Our mission is to ensure that Birmingham is at the heart of this progress by providing the state-of-the-art workspaces businesses need, alongside the knowledge and backing of industry and university partners.”
The firm has also expanded its locally-based West Midlands team and announced the appointment of Moe Ali as Senior Asset Manager.
In his new role, Ali will be responsible for driving Bruntwood SciTech’s programme of transformations across its portfolio in Birmingham.
He joins from Oval Real Estate where he spent the last three years as an Asset Manager for the Digbeth Estate, while he also has experience working across Birmingham’s CBD in his previous role at Colliers.
Ali said: “I have been a huge admirer of Bruntwood SciTech for a number of years. Its ongoing commitment to the continued advancement of Birmingham and the innovation economy, support for technology and science-driven businesses, and close relationships with key stakeholders will create a legacy for the region.
“In my new role, I hope to build on this success creating best-in-class workspaces to support the ambitions of the people and businesses across the city and region.”
Bruntwood SciTech currently has a number of projects underway or recently completed across Birmingham.
Enterprise Wharf at the Innovation Birmingham campus, one of Birmingham’s first SMART buildings, completed in Q4 of 2023, doubling the size of the campus.
It forms part of the Birmingham Innovation Quarter (B-IQ) masterplan, a partnership between Bruntwood SciTech, Aston University and Birmingham City Council, and is aimed at establishing the city as a tech and health innovation hub internationally.
Meanwhile, Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) is due to complete construction in Spring of this year.
In partnership with The University of Birmingham, BHIC offers 133,000 sq ft of flexible office and lab space aimed at businesses focused on areas including medtech, biopharma, healthcare AI and cancer research.
In the coming months, Bruntwood SciTech says it plans to refurbish a number of its other city centre innovation hubs.
