Software giant Oracle has indentified Blythe Valley park at junction 4 of the M42 outside Birmingham as the site for its new 37,160 sq m (400,000 sq ft) offices.
The move is being hailed as the biggest vote of confidence in the West Midlands this decade. One agent called it “the most significant fresh requirement that the Midlands has seen for ten years.”
Tony Lawson of Holley Blake, which advises Oracle and is also marketing Blythe Valley along with DTZ Debenham Thorpe, would not confirm the move, saying only: “There could well be an acquisition in the Midlands,” and added that Oracle wished to buy a site.
The greenfield site is being marketed at £988,386 per ha (£400,000 per acre) for industrial use and more for office space. Solihull Council, which owns the 36 ha (90 acre) site wishes to retain ownership and is likely to sell a long lease to a big occupier.
British Land and Kingspark Developments have a joint development rights agreement with the council and are set to take the scheme forward.
Oracle currently occupies 24,154 sq m (260,000 sq ft) at Thames Valley Park near Reading. It bought the 19ha (47 acre) site for £21m in 1993 and sold on 11.3 ha (28 acres) to Argent for £17.4m a year later. However, it has outgrown the space and has asked the local authority to change a planning consent on land it owns there from hotel to office use.
Estates Gazette 02/08/97
