THE final chapter in the troubled history of The Cube has begun as the opening of a new ‘celebrity’ hair salon heralds a string of major launches at the landmark location in Birmingham.
The building fell into administration in March last year as the complex neared completion by the Birmingham Development Company, led by veteran developers Alan Chatham and Mark Billingham, whose CVs also include Brindleyplace and the Mailbox.
New owner Aruna Project is hoping to put that period behind them as Adee Phelan, known for styling David Beckham and Sarah Harding, opened his doors for the first day of trading yesterday, kicking off a very busy few months for the 23-storey tower.
Neil Edginton, now sole director of Birmingham Development Company, told TheBusinessDesk.com the firm was currently in discussions with a Mexican restaurant operator for a 3,500 sq ft unit and three other firms to run a new cafe. “These aren’t tenants who are shuffling around the city, we’ve brought them in,” he said.
“They are all inward investment into the city which we are chuffed about for The Cube but I think the city should be chuffed about as well. We have spoken to Rodizio Rico for about 11 years in this city and he bought into this building – he wouldn’t come here before.
“With the tenants we’ve signed up to date, the investment in the building is around £17m.”
He estimated the number of jobs created by The Cube was around 8,000 – 5,000 of those through its construction alone.
The building is now owned by Aruna Project, a new outfit launched by Mr Edington 10 months ago, which acts as parent for Birmingham Development Company.
BDC has been under the control of administrators from PwC for 18 months and will eventually be closed down, most likely next year after the administration period was extended until 2013.
The big question hanging over The Cube and its tenants is whether there is enough interest in high end, boutique offerings such as exclusive members’ clubs, spas and restaurants in the second city.
Coupled with this, does The Cube’s slightly off-the-beaten track location hinder or help it?
Mr Phelan, originally from Kings Heath, said the opening of the canal side salon, his fifth overall, was the culmination of a ten-year search for the right location during which time he never seriously considered opening in Birmingham until he saw The Cube.
“I was waiting for an iconic building to go up, I would never have opened a salon in the High Street, and I considered no other locations in Birmingham,” the 38-year-old told TheBusinessDesk.com.
“Marco Pierre White told me about this place and I thought if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me. But I won’t be opening up another in Birmingham. “This is the most special salon I’ve ever done because it’s in Birmingham, it’s very personal and I’ve spent more on this than any other salon.”
Phelan’s 4,800 sq ft operation has initially created 20 new roles which he said was likely to go up to 50 posts in due course.
He has also shown long-term commitment to the project by not only signing a 30-year lease, which cannot be sub-let to secondary party, but also buying himself a penthouse apartment.
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BDC has been under the control of administrators from PwC for 18 months and will eventually be closed down, most likely next year after the administration period was extended until 2013.
