SECTOR FOCUS: PROPERTY
Investing in a new director C
ushman & Wakefield has appointed David Smeeton as senior director and head of
investment for its Birmingham office. Mr Smeeton joins Cushman &
Wakefield after 19 years with property firm Colliers, where he ran the firm’s Birmingham office. He has been involved with many significant deals in the region including Hines Global REI acquisition of Brindleyplace from Argent for £200M, Hines European Growth Fund II acquisition of Snowhill Two from NAMA in conjunction with Ballymore, and its subsequent sale to M&G for £150m. Jon Leedham, head of Midlands,
South West and Wales, said: “David joins a very successful team in Birmingham which has been responsible for some of the biggest investment deals in the city in the last year, including The Green in Solihull. I am confident his breadth and depth of experience will be of great benefit to all our clients and will complement the strong talent that currently exists in the team.”
On the move (from left): Jon Leedham, David Smeeton and David Tonks Mr Smeeton said: “Cushman &
Wakefield is one of the leading advisors in the region and I am looking forward to developing our strategic investment advice to clients at a time of exciting and dynamic growth.”
David Tonks, head of the Birmingham Office, said: “We continue to grow and complement the breadth of services that we offer clients in all sectors and David’s appointment enhances this reputation further.”
The right home for Harman
IM Properties has now fully let the Rhodium building at Blythe Valley Park. The audio and visual equipment supplier Harman is the latest tenant, having taken 3,424 sq ft at Rhodium on a five year lease. Harman supplies various automotive
manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley, and is part of the Harman Group which employs a global workforce of 28,000 in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Harman senior director and general manager Ian
Palmer said: ”Blythe Valley Park provides Harman with a great work space and environment that suits our needs at a premium business park. As a supplier of connected car, automotive audio products and connected services we were attracted to the benefits it offers including proximity to our UK automotive customers with easy access to the motorway network and Birmingham Airport.’’
IM Properties’ Harry Goodman said: “Harman is a
fantastic brand and a great name to add to our prestigious list of occupiers at Blythe Valley Park. They have been searching for the right premises and their selection of Rhodium is a great testament to the excellent reputation of Blythe Valley Park and it’s great to welcome a new occupier to the park.” Other occupiers at Rhodium include Enzen, BAM,
iTradeNetwork and Esko. The site has 430,000 sq ft of commercial accommodation and a further 44 acres of land offering future development potential. Alongside Blythe Valley Park, IM Properties owns a
number of other key assets in the Solihull, including Solihull Business Park, Mell Square Shopping Centre, and Fore Business Park.
Artist’s impression: how Wolverhampton’s £10m science facility will look
A new centre for science
Work has started on a £10m centre which will provide high specification laboratory and workshop space for science and engineering businesses in Wolverhampton. The Science, Technology
and Prototyping Centre is being built on land at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park. A ground-breaking
ceremony was held at the site to mark the start of work. The three-storey
development will offer 4,000 square metres of space and feature high quality offices, labs and workshops, as well as a café and space for parking. The project has been
funded through a £4.8m grant from the Growth Deal to the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, with the remaining £5.3m coming from the University of Wolverhampton.
‘This exciting new development will be the only facility of its type in the Black Country’
The new centre will offer specialist space to scientific- based businesses wanting to develop and enhance their research and development activities. Deputy vice-chancellor at
the university, Professor Ian Oakes, said: “This exciting new development will be the only facility of its type in the Black Country and will build on the University’s investment in science and engineering in the last two years. “We already have around
Full up: the Rhodium building at Blythe Valley
80 businesses based at the Science Park and this new centre will attract another 30 science and technology-based companies right to heart of Wolverhampton.” The centre is due to be completed in Spring 2017.
APRIL 2016 CHAMBERLINK 47
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