Arena Central Developments and banking giant HSBC have signed the largest property deal to take place in Birmingham since 2002.
The deal was first revealed on EGi last month. HSBC will forward purchase the 210,000 sq ft 2 Arena Central, which will be the head office of HSBC’s UK ring-fenced bank serving personal and business customers on a 250-year lease.
Subject to securing planning consent at the end of this month, work will start on site this summer and the scheme will be handed over to HSBC in mid-2017 for occupation from early 2018.
The building is designed by architect Ken Shuttleworth of Make Architects.
Birmingham is already home to more than 2,500 HSBC employees and around 1,000 head office roles will move from London to Birmingham before 1 January 2019. The bank’s UK headquarters is at 8 Canada Square, E14, where it has just over 12 years left on its lease of the entire 1m sq ft building.
Situated in the heart of Birmingham’s city centre enterprise zone, the 9.2-acre Arena Central site has been masterplanned to deliver over a £400m scheme comprising 1m sq ft of office lead, mixed use development.
Arena Central is being delivered by ACDL, a joint venture between Miller Developments and Pro Vinci Asset Management.
Phil Miller, chief executive Miller Developments, said: “The two teams have worked tirelessly to deliver what is the most significant deal in Birmingham for over a decade and will redefine the westside of Birmingham.”
Graham Canvin, head of corporate real estate at HSBC UK, said: “Arena Central was a natural choice for the home of our ring-fenced bank, with a building capable of being delivered to our timescales and to meet our exact specifications along with a connected, central position within the city.
“Our team will be working closely with ACDL ahead of our transition from London, which will begin in 2017.”
