West Midlands In My View: Ian Pitt Ian Pitt
It’s clear that The Midlands commercial property market is experiencing a big resurgence. Activity in the industrial sector in particular continues to be strong, with high warehouse demand and major logistics projects such as the West Midlands Interchange helping drive growth. We’re seeing that retail is gradually bouncing back after the post-Covid slowdown, and while office demand faces continued pressures, it is also steadily improving. Overall, momentum is
building and, with transformative infrastructure projects like HS2 and more people returning to the workplace, plenty of new opportuni- ties are being created for investors, occupiers, and developers alike.
Meeting demand
As the market grows, at Bruton Knowles we have been busy adapting our ways of working to keep up with demand. We have significantly updated our operations, systems and processes to help maximise the efficiency of delivering our reports, which in turn has provided a smoother work delivery process and a higher quality of client service. For example, we now use VALOS to generate all valuation reports. This significantly reduces turnaround times, a change that has been particularly well received by our clients.
We have also developed an in-house database to track all quotes and instructions. This has significantly improved the fee quoting process, streamlining email traffic coming in, enabling faster checks for each quote through to instructions and centralising documentation. It also supports the fee quoting and administration procedures, easing the pressure on our valuers which means they can focus on what matters most: delivering accurate, high-quality valuation reports. Our hybrid working policy, supported by advanced IT systems, lets our valuers
Nuneaton and Bedworth Council
Nuneaton and Bedworth, market towns of more than 135,000 res- idents and the birthplace of novelist George Eliot, who challenged and shaped societal norms is continuing to progress just like its famous daughter.
In recent years, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has ush- ered in a wave of transformation projects that are redefining the borough, from cultural regeneration in Nuneaton to a new horizon of leisure and commerce in Bedworth.
Both towns are within a 20-mile travel radius of over three million people– amplified further by its rail travel connections to Birmingham, Leicester and London. The borough is becoming a sought after and key location to live, work, visit and stay.
The Borough already has several national and international busi- nesses located in its area and is on the doorstep of HORIBA MIRA Ltd, an automotive engineering and development consultancy company headquartered on the edge of Nuneaton. The Borough is changing rapidly, and we look at a couple of the regeneration projects taking shape in the very near future.
Grayson Place – reinventing Nuneaton town centre
Launched as the flagship of the Transforming Nuneaton initiative, Grayson Place links the prime shopping area of Queens Road with the local retail area on Abbey Street.
It connects Nuneaton’s two shopping centres, Ropewalk and Abbeygate, and footfall through the town. Grayson Place is conven- iently Accessed off the town’s ring road and straight into a new 160
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025
space surface level car park in the middle of Nuneaton. This dynamic, mix-use development spans a large area of the town centre and will create an exciting new square. At its heart is a Hampton- by-Hilton hotel, a leisure facility, a food hall, and retail units as well as a Digital Skills and Innovation Centre in partnership with North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, to foster the next generation of creativity from the youth of the borough and neighbouring areas.
The first phase opened in 2024, with the new 145-room hotel wel- coming guests through its doors, while the second phase featuring the food hall and padel centre is scheduled for launch Spring 2026 and college campus operating from the academic year 2026/27 to educate future generations.
Bedworth Physical Activity Hub – A Legacy of Wellbeing
A community-focused projected, Bedworth Physical Activity Hub replaces the outdated Bedworth Leisure Centre. Funded by Sport England, MHCLG via the Levelling Up Fund, this multi-million-pound state-of-the-art development promises facilities for the next 40 years for residents of the borough and visitors from further afield. Key features include a 25-metre eight-lane community pool, four-court sports hall, 100-station fitness suite, spin and fitness studio, 9v9 floodlit 3G pitch, with increased capacity for car parking and EV charg- ing stations for vehicles. That is not all, there will be an all-wheels skatepark, cycle hub, learn to ride and fitness studio -including a spin area.
The landmark Bedworth Physical Activity Hub is on track to open by Autumn 2026, with the first phase and new building set to open in Spring 2026.
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move seamlessly between site inspections and report preparation, whether they’re in the office or working remotely, helping us keep up with growing demand.
Growth through The Midlands and beyond
We have had a strong presence in both the East and West Midlands for a number of years, and we have managed to grow our footprint across the regions as our valuation services continue to expand. This growth has driven a notable boost in performance, with both new instructions and valuation fee income rising year on year. In fact, valuations are up 33% compared to the same period in 2024, and an impressive 71% compared to 2023.
We’re actively moving into new locations and increasing out valuation capacity to meet growing demand and thanks to our solid process and improved systems, we can take on more instructions without any major changes. Our in-house Talent Acquisition Specialist is busy finding the right valuation surveyors to join our growing team, and we plan to expand services in more areas around our current offices.
Looking forward
At Bruton Knowles, we’re focussed on driving ambitious growth across our Valuation services.
I am proud to lead the National Valuation Team as we continue to expand, invest in new talent and make the most of our upgraded IT systems and streamlined processes.
This progression means we’re even better placed to meet rising demand in the Midlands commercial property market and keep delivering top-quality valuation advice to our clients.
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