KPMG is closing in on two Birmingham office schemes for its regional headquarters, in a deal that will be city’s largest prelet for five years.
Sources said Abstract Land’s 307,000 sq ft Colmore Plaza and Ballymore Property’s 250,000 sq ft Snow Hill developments were at the top of the list to house the accounting firm’s requirement of up to 120,000 sq ft. A deal would represent a massive boost to either scheme.
One insider said: “This shortlist is fact. KPMG is the name that everyone wants in their development.
“Both Snow Hill and Colmore Plaza will be looking for a kick-start. Whichever doesn’t secure KPMG could sit on the blocks for a while.”
But KPMG’s Birmingham senior partner Mark Hopton denied the shortlist.
“We’re at a very formative stage of considering our options and have made no shortlist. I’m familiar with the two locations and we’ve narrowed down a shopping list from around 40 schemes,” he said. “We’ve got some preferences, which also could include Saxan Securities’ redevelopment of our existing building at Church Street.”
Saxan plans to transform the existing Church Street site into a 120,000 sq ft office tower by the first half of 2008.
Colmore Plaza and Snow Hill are both scheduled to be completed in 2007.
KPMG is expected to decide on its preferred location early next year. Its adviser GVA Grimley declined to comment.
