The Government Property Unit has taken 240,000 sq ft in Birmingham’s Arena Central in the city’s largest prelet in the past decade.
It has agreed a 25-year lease for the full 3 Arena Central building to house 3,600 civil servants across a number of services, including HM Revenue and Customs’ Midlands regional hub. Work on the Miller Developments-led site, part of Birmingham’s nine-acre city centre regeneration, is expected to complete in 2020.
Kelvin Craddock, director of tenant representation at JLL, which acted for the government, said: “Arena Central was selected after a comprehensive review of options, focusing on a broad range of criteria including cost efficiency to deliver savings for the government estate.
“The appeal of a self-contained building and the environment being created were big positives in the selection of Arena Central. JLL is immensely proud to have advised on this landmark deal for Birmingham.”
Andrew Sutherland, joint managing director of Miller Developments, added: “We are naturally delighted that 3 Arena Central has been selected by the Government Property Unit to house its requirement.
The move forms part of the government’s hubs strategy to create 18 to 22 strategic hubs across the UK, located in major towns and cities and accessible by a range of transport links.
It follows the confirmation of a number of other hubs, which include:
■ Erskine House, Belfast
■ South Colonnade, Canary Wharf
■ Ruskin Square, Croydon
■ New Waverley, Edinburgh
■ India Buildings, Liverpool
■ 7-8 Wellington Place, Leeds
CBRE and GVA act as letting and investment agents at Arena Central.
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