Bassi pledges to invest locally
PROCEEDS from a multi-million pound share raising will be invested in Birmingham and the Black Country, one of the area’s leading property entrepreneurs has pledged.
Paul Bassi said the £10.1m raised through the offer would be used by his company Real Estate Investors (RLE) to capitalise on opportunities in the property sector.
He told TheBusinessDesk.com: “I was delighted with the response to the offer and such was the popularity that we could comfortably have raised twice this much.
“It also indicates that despite the state of the economy there is still a fair amount of confidence around, especially when you consider that this was raised at premium share price.”
He said the company was now looking to invest in property opportunities around the industrial heartland of Birmingham and the Black Country.
West Bromwich in particular was ripe for investment he said, especially with organisations looking to get value for money.
“The West Bromwich office market is very strong at the moment, much stronger than Birmingham,” he said.
“This isn’t surprising as the town offers far more value with office rents anywhere between a third to half of what they are in the city.
“People are tired of long commutes into the city and want good access to the motorway network, which is why West Bromwich provides them with much of what they need.”
He said Bond Wolfe offices in the town were very popular with Government organisations, training bodies and small firms on restricted budgets.
Not that REI is totally focused on West Bromwich or the commercial sector in general.
“There are opportunities in many areas – Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall – and we will be looking at everything from retail to residential,” he said.
One example has been his recent acquisition of an empty pub in Tividale.
He secured the sale of the Red Lion in Regent Road with a favourable residential planning permission.
The company will now look to sell the site on to a housing developer at a significant profit.
“This is just one example but there are other opportunities like this available in the area and we intend to capitalise on them,” said Mr Bassi, who is also president of the Birmingham and Solihull Chamber of Commerce.
“Property prices are down at the moment – significantly below 2006-07 – but things are improving and banks are lending money to people to buy homes which has to be encouraging.”
The company’s share price has held up well in the past few months and trading in the new shares is expected to begin tomorrow.
