A 250,000 sq ft office building in Birmingham city centre has been put on the market with an asking price of £73m.
CBRE has been instructed to sell Priory Court and The Lewis Building on Bull Street, on behalf of receivers. The asset last traded in 2019 for close to £140m.
The Lewis Building, which was previously known as Temple Court, was home to Lewis’s department store, before it closed in 1991. In 2014, LGIM Real Assets acquired the building, carried out a comprehensive refurbishment and relaunched it in 2017 as The Lewis Building. The building provides 111,620 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation, let to four tenants.
Priory Court comprises 136,728 sq ft of offices, let in its entirety to the Secretary of State, and ground floor leisure space, let to pub operator JD Wetherspoon. The sale also includes the 5,842 sq ft The Minories retail arcade, comprising nine units. The total passing rent is £7,017,268 per annum.
Nick Woodward, head of investment properties at CBRE Birmingham, said: “Priory Court and The Lewis Building is a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality office asset, anchored by long term government income whilst also presenting significant asset management opportunities to add value. With a take-up of 842,200 sq ft across 96 deals in 2024, the Birmingham office market has recorded its highest level of take-up since 2017 and significantly above the five, 10 and 15-year averages.
“Alongside this, Birmingham has witnessed impressive rental growth over recent years and with a limited development pipeline this trend is expected to continue. These market dynamics offer an exceptional opportunity to execute a successful asset management strategy at Priory Court and The Lewis Building, through new lettings, re-gears and strategic capital expenditure.”
