Landmark Birmingham office building hits market for £48m

Federated Hermes has put the landmark Baskerville House on the market, with a price tag of £48.2m.
ACRE Capital Real Estate has been tasked with selling the Grade II-listed Birmingham building, which Hermes acquired in a £40m deal twelve years ago.
Around 16% of the 196,000 sq ft building is currently vacant, with the remaining snapped up by tenants such as the University College Birmingham, Network Rail and Kaplan Financial.
Located in Centenary Square, Baskerville House underwent a major renovation in recent years and benefitted from a transformation of the wider business district.
HSBC moved its headquarters across the road to Arena Central, whilst the Hermes-backed Paradise development became home to PwC, DLA Piper and leisure brands such as Alberts Schloss, Dishoom and Big Mamma group’s latest opening La Bellezza.
The site was originally the home of John Baskerville, the eighteenth-century printer whose innovations are now best remembered in typefaces that carry his name.
Baskerville House was completed in the 1940s and was home to departments of Birmingham City Council for more than 50 years before it fell vacant in 1998. It was listed in 2001 before a major redevelopment programme resulted in two floors being added.