Constructors having to up their game to meet Birmingham’s exacting standards
THE contractor set to build Phoenix House in Birmingham has called for a step-change in commercial construction following a surge of investment in the city’s office market.
The call to action by Wates Construction follows Birmingham City Council’s announced plans for the £600m regeneration of Snow Hill and Colmore to create 200,000 sq m of office space over the next 20 years.
Richard Scarrott, Business Unit Director at Wates Construction, Midlands, comments: “There is a huge appetite for prime office space in Birmingham and there is no doubt that the market is at its most buoyant, especially in light of GVA’s prediction that city centre office take up is on track to exceed 900,000 sq ft by the end of the year.
“Inevitably, this is resulting in an influx in commercial investment, which is in turn introducing new levels of competition in commercial property as developers look to innovate and diversify their offer to the market.
“The increase in investment is excellent news for Birmingham and comes as no surprise to those that have been closely monitoring the ongoing growth of the city over the past decade. It does however bring with it a pressure for the built environment industry to up its game in order to deliver premium spaces that will attract businesses, from small to large and local to global.”
Last year, Wates completed Wragge, Lawrence, Graham & Co’s (now Gowling WLG) office fit-out at Two Snowhill, which included eight floors of bespoke, premium office space complete with client lounge, well-being suites, a restaurant and a training academy.
“The level of quality that the law firm strived for at their new Birmingham premises is a prime example of the emphasis that is being put on creating an office setting that is unique and ultimately reflects their world-class reputation,” said Mr Scarrott (left).
“From a speculative point of view, attracting tenants ultimately boils down to a developer’s ability to create something unique and that is a challenge that must be met by contractors. Pushing the boundaries of innovation is the only way that our industry can equip itself to fulfil the bold ambitions of commercial developers and ultimately turn their aspirations into working environments that will make Birmingham a destination of choice for world-leading businesses.”
He said Wates’ recent appointment to Ardstone Capital’s Phoenix House was the firm’s latest challenge to support a developer looking to bring something new to market.
He said the firm’s experience in the Birmingham commercial market enabled it to understand how imperative it was to continually expand skill set, local knowledge and invest in new technology.
The firm has recently strengthened its resources following the acquisition of Shepherd Group’s SES (Engineering Services), Shepherd FM and a number of contracts and frameworks from Shepherd Construction. This has seen Wates take on an additional 1,200 people.
“For Wates, all of the cogs are in place for us to help take Birmingham’s office market to new heights. The industry however is ever-changing and we know we need to continue to embrace innovations in order to stay ahead of the curve and we would urge our industry peers to heed the same advice,” added Mr Scarrott.
