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Top story
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Goodman gets go-ahead for Derby mega shed
Property developer Goodman has secured planning permission for a 1.2 m sq ft shed at Derby Commercial Park. The development, which will bring up to 3,000 jobs to the city, will be one of the largest in the UK and Goodman is already looking for pre-lets. The site proposals include car showrooms, offices and more industrial space. Goodman is also investing £20m in improving transport links via a dual carriageway. Graham Pardoe, Goodman’s logistics development director, said: “We take a long term approach to developments and this strategically located scheme will offer new infrastructure and facilities that will have a great deal to offer occupiers.”
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Property
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Government backs Walsall Gigaport
The government has given its backing to Walsall Gigaport, the £400m scheme for a business quarter with super-fast communications technology. Local government secretary Hazel Blears has decided not to call in the outline planning application, approved in principle by Walsall Council. The consent was one of Btitain’s biggest planning decisions this year. Ben Reid, chairman of Walsall Regeneration Company, said: “This is great news and even more significant in the current economic climate. Gigaport is a major transformational project that will help us to attract industries, create high-quality jobs and equip Walsall to compete in a global market place. The 23-hectare site that could create up to 3,000 jobs. The outline permission is for 127,000 sq m of high-quality offices, including an incubation centre, data centre, hotel, and “living and working space”.
AIB gives thumbs-up for “coliseum” development
Allied Irish Bank has provided funding to cover half of the £40m redevelopment of one of Birmingham’s flagship learning centres, Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College. Replacing the college’s 1960s former secondary comprehensive building in Balsall Heath Road, the iconic semi-circular building is reminiscent of the coliseum and was built by BAM Construction.
Clowes swoops for Wilson Bowden sites
Clowes Developments, based in Brailsford, Derbyshire, has bought £46m worth of land and industrial units from Wilson Bowden Developments. Completion is expected in early 2009. The deal includes high-profile sites across the East and West Midlands including the 111-acre East Midlands Distribution Centre at Castle Donington. The multimillion-pound deal was completed by a team lead by Ian Beardmore, senior partner at Derby law firm Flint Bishop, while Slaughter and May represented Wilson Bowden Developments.
More room at the Premier Inn
Whitbread, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant company, is building four Premier Travel Inns in the West Midlands. They will contribute to the company’s aim to increase its number of rooms nationally from 38,000 to 55,000 in five years. Premier Inns will be developed at Stratford-Upon-Avon, Hanley, Solihull and Worcester.
Derby Corporate gets green light
The University of Derby’s plans for an £8m business centre have been approved by the city council. The planning control committee has approved plans for the centre, which will support start-up businesses and act as the headquarters for University of Derby Corporate, the university’s business arm. Work on the centre, at Jackson’s Mill in Bridge Street, will begin shortly and be completed by spring 2010. A contractor is being sought to build the centre.
Two more for Swan Valley
Two more companies have moved in to Cedar House Investments' 23,200 sq ft Swan Valley Office Village at junction 15a of the M1 in Northampton. Dunham Law has taken a 2,015 sq ft office building, which will be occupied by two new equity partners – John Punni and Douglas Iles. A further 4,800 sq ft has been acquired by Modulex Systems, previously based on the Round Spinney Industrial Estate in Northampton.
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Deals
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Metalrax moves out of MRX
Metalrax, the Midlands specialist engineering group, has sold its MRX Automotive arm to Sertec. Smethwick-based MRX, which makes high volume, low margin components for the automotive industry, has been sold for £850,000. MRX, which has 120 employees, lost £900,000 on turnover of £13.4m during 2007. Andrew Richardson, chief executive of Metalrax, said: “The disposal of the business assets of MRX Automotive is part of Metalrax’s continued reorganisation of existing operations and completes the group’s strategy of exiting the automotive sector.”
Dealmakers have a ball with LG
LG Ball Valves, the Aldridge specialist valves maker, has been sold to one of its main customers. Walsall entrepreneur Nick Thurston and his wife Penny have sold the business to Aberdeen Valve Supplies. They acquired the company three years ago and turnover has risen from £700,000 to £6m. The company, which employs 17 people, will continue to trade from Aldridge and Thurston will continue to run the business for 12 months while a replacement managing director is recruited. The corporate finance team at the Wolverhampton office of chartered accountancy firm HW negotiated terms with Scottish advisors acting for Aberdeen and Clydesdale Bank, which provided funding.
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Business
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Builder’s merchants falls down
A Shropshire builder’s merchants, which has served the county for nearly 80 years, has closed. A Bertram Edwards, based in Belle Vue, Shrewsbury, was established in 1919 and supplied building materials and timber. The company is now in the hands of liquidators.
Road to Damascus commercial
Creative organisations from the West Midlands have joined more than 40 others from European countries on a trade mission to Syria to form business relationships with counterpart companies in radio, film, music production, publishing and illustration. The trade mission, led by the Enterprise Europe Network West Midlands, visited Damascus for three days.
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People
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Cooper Parry shuffles pack
Cooper Parry has boosted its presence in Leicester by relocating two partners to offices in Colton Square. Edward Rands and Andrew Timms join the office from Nottingham.
Return to Wragge
Wragge & Co has enticed corporate recovery specialist Vicki Conway away from HBJ Gateley Wareing less than two years after she left the firm. Conway will focus on the regional market while partner Julian Pallett concentrates on London. Conway began her career at Eversheds before moving to Wragge & Co in 1999, where she became a director in 2006.
Duo on the move at Edward Symmonds
Birmingham chartered surveyor Edward Symmonds has appointed James Millard to its valuation services team and promoted James Acton, an existing member of the firm's machinery and business assets (MBA) team, to senior valuer. The move comes in response to increased demand for valuations, property reviews and machinery and business assets advice. Millard joins as a graduate surveyor.
Senior partner departs
Richard Holland has stepped down as senior partner at Birmingham and Solihull law firm Sydney Mitchell after 20 years. Taking over the position is ‘home grown’ partner Div Singh.
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