PRESS RELEASE
10 October 2017
BLUE MARBLE TRANSFORMS BIRMINGHAM OFFICE BUILDING INTO HIGH VALUE, INCOME PRODUCING RESTAURANT FOR LAW SOCIETY
Blue Marble Asset Management (Blue Marble) has advised Birmingham Law Society (BLS) on the letting of a central Birmingham building to a national bar / restaurant group, more than doubling the value of the freehold, and delivering an annual rent of £150,000.
Edward Jones, Investment Director at Birmingham-based real estate asset management company Blue Marble,was a key advisor to the BLS property sub committee throughout their negotiations in relation to the lease of 8 Temple Street, Birmingham, B2 5BN, a 12,027 sq ft former office building and law library, to Revolution Bars Group for a new Revolución de Cuba restaurant, on a new 25 year lease.
The new tenant will fund, and carry out, a comprehensive refurbishment of the building, which includes stripping the building back to its shell, and undertaking a substantial fit out.
Following completion of the works, the freehold value of the building will have increased in value from under £1 million to in excess of £2.7 million.
BLS approached Mr Jones for advice on what to do with its dilapidated and under-utilised asset at Eight Temple Street where the upper parts had been unoccupied for a number of years. The largest regional law society in the UK, with more than 5,000 members, BLS wanted to generate an income from the building, but lacked the funds and expertise to maximise the value of their asset.
Mr Jones advised marketing the building as an opportunity for a new bar or restaurant. He says: “Eight Temple Street is the best A3/A4 leisure pitch in Birmingham. It’s on the main pedestrian route linking the city’s Central Business District to Grand Central, and is surrounded by an established and growing mix of high-end restaurants and bars in Birmingham’s newest restaurant/leisure district.
“Following a beauty parade with a number of potential operators from national pub chains to Michelin starred restaurants, we agreed the deal with Revolution Bars Group.”
“We have transformed a problem and a liability into a self-sufficient asset, so rather than a potential drain on their resources in maintenance costs, BLS will have a fully restored building in a prime pitch, generating a significant annual income for the benefit of its members.”
Chris Owen, former BLS Chairman, and former Chief Executive of St Philips Chambers in Birmingham, who chaired the BLS property sub committee worked closely with Mr Jones throughout the process. He says: “I am absolutely delighted with the advice Ed Jones gave to BLS over the past few years, he guided our sub committee step by step to the present position of having a five star tenant in our building on a long lease. The Society is indebted to Ed for his commercial savvy and we will shortly have a fully refurbished building giving the Society a strong income stream for many years to come.”
Planning permission has been granted, and works are now underway.
Based in Birmingham’s Colmore Business District, Blue Marble Asset Management is a real estate asset management specialist which presently has more than £70 million of property assets under management. It works for a select range of clients including investment businesses, high net worth individuals, trusts and family offices. Its business is based on taking a holistic and strategic view of each of its property investments.
Blue Marble Asset Management can be contacted on tel. 0121 272 4949 or email. ejones@bmassetmanagement.co.uk or via www.bmassetmanagement.co.uk.
Picture caption. 8 Temple Street Birmingham which will be the site of a new Revolución de Cuba restaurant.