The future ambitions for the city and the region were the draw that attracted our partnership to invest and to continue to look for future investments in the region. Today the Galliard Apsley Partnership, a joint venture between Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital, has established a £400 million portfolio of developments in Birmingham over the past five years, delivering around 1,700 homes at sites including Belgrave Village, Timber Yard, St Paul’s Quarter and Soho Wharf.
The West Midlands is said to have entered a new ‘renaissance’ era, with new regeneration projects giving life to forgotten communities. The 2022 Commonwealth Games which is projected to see a huge transformation of the region over the next decade coupled with HS2 is a real driving force to enabling the region to attract further investment and growth.
Since 2015 the investment within the public realm has been transformative to making the city and the region a place where people want to live, work, and socialise. Birmingham has seen the £600 million reopening of New Street station, £700 million Paradise Project, the £10 million redevelopment of Centenary Square, the £50 million redevelopment of The Mailbox, and the £150 million launch of Grand Central shopping centre, to name a few of the transformative projects creating what’s been called a ‘halo effect’ in the area. These major infrastructural changes, coupled with the prospect of HS2, are what have put the region ahead of the likes of London, Milan and Paris in terms of international investment appeal.
The investment in infrastructure has been a major pull in attracting businesses from a wide range of sectors looking for a fresh, forward-thinking area to base their company. The economy, in recent years, has seen a healthy growth and is set to rise further as more firms are choosing Birmingham as the location for their offices.
In 2007, Deutsche Bank opened in Birmingham and has since expanded their portfolio. In 2018, HSBC returned back to its original home, Birmingham, where ‘The Birmingham and Midland Bank’ part of the group began in 1836. Barclays, KPMG, PWC, Goldman Sachs and BT have all followed suit. As with any company the decision to relocate across the country takes immense planning and consideration, one of the reasons why businesses have chosen the West Midlands is largely down to the live, work and play environment. This focus ensures that staff can get the most out of not only their workplace but where they live too.
Birmingham was recently ranked one of the most rapidly improving places to work in Britain and It is therefore no wonder that the West Midlands is seen as an attractive prospect for young professionals. Birmingham has a young and growing population with around 40% of the population found to be under the age of twenty-five. The West Midlands offer young professionals an area that is full of opportunity and affordable living costs.
The investment being made in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands was a major factor in why we have invested within the city. Our current investments include:
• The Timber Yard, situated in the Gay Village and on the edge off Birmingham’s dynamic Chinatown, will introduce a new living quarter to Birmingham’s prominent Pershore Street. This development, designed by Claridge Architects, will comprise 379 contemporary apartments arranged across two statement buildings.
• Our Soho Wharf site is a sizeable residential newbuild project located just outside the city centre of Birmingham and is part of a wider plan to expand Birmingham to the west, converting former industrial areas into new neighbourhoods with generous public landscaping and high-quality architecture. The project consists of 752 homes, three commercial units with sixty-four homes being offered at discounted market rents. Due to the ambitions of the city and region Heimstaden Bostad have invested into the site as their first investment within the British real estate market. The region fits in with Heimstaden’s strategy to expand into strong and attractive European Markets.
• St Paul’s Quarter will see a four acre section of Birmingham’s vibrant Jewellery Quarter transformed. It is set to combine contemporary and historic architecture, this development will comprise 305 one-, two[1]and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses situated within a collection of retained listed buildings. St Paul’s Quarter will provide the local area with 98,297 sq ft of retail, leisure, and commercial space.
• Belgrave Village will give life to a new community in the heart of Birmingham. In partnership with Wavensmere Homes we will be delivering a landmark scheme which will transform over twelve acres of Birmingham land into a new residential village and approximately 1,100 sq ft of retail space. This mixed-use scheme will produce around 305 new homes; a mixture of townhouses and one, two and three bedroom apartments.
The future for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands is creating a real sense of excitement and it’s a story we are proud to be part of.