A Guide to Business in Birmingham A Guide to Business in Birmingham | Page 4

A guide to business in Birmingham Key commercial property trends With the development of the HS2 rail project, Birmingham is bracing itself for a boom in commercial property demand, with multi-national firms encouraged to use the city as their primary British base.  While demand has slowed down following the financial crisis, the office, industrial and retail sectors are expected to exceed the rest of the UK average until 2015: Source: GVA Regional Cities Seminar: Invest in Birmingham/IPD REFL Jan 2011  Speculative developments like the city centre Paradise Circus project are likely to be completed, offering new Grade-A office plots, along with retail space, hotel and entertainment facilities. Other new developments like Five Brindley Place and 2 Snowhill have modernised the city centre with top-quality office space.  Demand for industrial space in the city has been increasing rapidly recently as a result of a boom in the e-commerce market, with Birmingham’s first-class distribution access to the rest of the country creating a rise in demand for purpose-built warehouses (10). Commercial Property – Industrial Units, Office Space to Rent 4