Planning consent granted for £5m Porsche centre in Wolverhampton

PLANNING consent for a new £5m Porsche dealership on a key site to the north of Wolverhampton has been granted by the city council.

The garage is being developed by Birmingham-based Trebor Developments, in conjunction with land owner Ask Developments and will be operated by luxury automotive retailer Stratstone.

The dealership is being located at the Gateway site, close to Junction 2 of the M54. The scheme was fast-tracked by the council, which Trebor said reflected the importance it had deemed the new showroom to have.

The 27,000 sq ft dealership, which encompasses display and storage/preparation areas, extends the Porsche network for Stratstone. It currently has four Porsche centres throughout the UK based in Bolton, Nottingham, Sutton Coldfield, and Wilmslow.

Bob Tattrie, managing partner for Trebor Developments, said: “We are grateful to Wolverhampton Council for the speed and proficiency in which they dealt with this planning application, which has now allowed us to proceed with the contract, which will see work on site commence in spring 2014.

“This is a major pre-let transaction with capital investment of over £5m and we will deliver a very high quality branded Porsche centre for our tenants, with an anticipated opening in the early part of 2015.”

David Kay, on behalf of Ask Developments, added: “Despite stiff competition from other areas, we are pleased that Wolverhampton was chosen. We are grateful for the support and proactive approach of the city council planning department who played an important part helping us to attract this prestigious client to the area.”

Developers Trebor and Ask were represented by Bulleys and the tenant by Innes-England.

The transaction has been implemented on a 20-year leasehold basis, with the investment being retained by Ask Developments.