BIRMINGHAM
ADVERTORIAL
Britain’ s Second Fastest
Growing City Drawing Property Investors
Britain’ s second city with its fast-growing status – Birmingham – has recently been crowned“ the most vibrant start-up community outside the capital”( according to The Times). It’ s becoming an increasingly attractive location for property investment.
With nearly 40 % of its population under 25 years, Birmingham is Europe’ s youngest city and an increasingly vibrant cosmopolitan hub- home to a booming community of young professionals.
“ Its connectivity, youth, mix of lifestyles and strong regional economy make Birmingham a place that appeals to entrepreneurs, professionals and investors alike,” says George Radford, Head of Africa for IP Global, an offshore investment company. With average city centre prices for 2-bed units at £ 250,000, Birmingham is also an accessible market for investors.”
With a population of 1.1 million and a shortage of new homes, significant development plans are underway, including city centre regeneration. Over 30 000 new homes are needed by 2031 to meet projected demand.
This surge has seen Birmingham property prices grow by 11.4 % between 2014 and 2016 and average rents increase by 3.2 % in 2016, with rental growth of 17.6 % forecast between 2017 and 2021, according to IP Global.
Birmingham’ s massive Big City 20-year master plan will transform the city centre, generate further investment, create 50 000 new jobs and add 1.8 million square metres of new floor space.
This will include the £ 500 million Paradise development which incorporates Chamberlain Square- the new home of PwC’ s 1 400 strong Birmingham workforce. In the last few years, this corporate giant along with HSBC have relocated. There are well over 1 000 international companies with offices in the city.
In 2016 there was a 37 % increase in business startups, while foreign direct investment rose by 243 % between 2011 and 2015.
“ For the third year in a row, PwC’ s Emerging Trends in Real Estate Report places Birmingham top in the UK for property investment prospects,” he says.
A key driver of Birmingham’ s growth, and major element of the Big City Plan, is the upgrade of the UK’ s national rail network which will deliver a £ 1.5 billion economic boost to the city and bring London within 49 minutes as well as significantly cut journey times to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester.
The new Grand Central shopping precinct is set to transform the city’ s retail, food and leisure offering. The city also has five universities and four colleges, ensuring a young and vibrant demographic and pool of workers. To top this Birmingham also has the most Michelin starred restaurants outside of London.
“ Birmingham was already set to grow quickly given its demographic and population growth projections,” says Radford.“ Taking into account its thriving city centre, Big City Plan and the fact that it has the biggest concentration of businesses outside of London, it is no wonder that property investment interest is so high,” Radford concluded.
50 JULY 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www. reimag. co. za