Colmore Plaza Expands Portfolio with Williams de Broë Deal

London - Global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group announces that it has let a further 5,200 sq ft of Grade A office space at its Colmore Plaza flagship office building in Birmingham to Williams de Broë Ltd, a leading UK-wide firm of investment managers.

It is the first major letting in the region in 2010 and marks a strong start to the year for Colmore Plaza, continuing the momentum achieved towards the end of 2009 and cementing Colmore Plaza’s position at the forefront of Birmingham’s Colmore business district. Other tenants include public service provider Amey, international architects Aedas and serviced office provider Orega, all of whom signed leases in the second half of 2009, as well as Davis Langdon, the global construction consultants, who moved in when the building opened.

Williams de Broë, will relocate all 42 staff from their existing Birmingham office and the company is expected to be in occupation by late spring, with fit out starting in February. The move facilitates Williams de Broë’s future expansion plans by providing an additional 1,000 sq ft more space than its previous location, which means the company can accommodate up to 20 extra staff along with supplementary meeting and conference rooms.

Mark Harris, Director of The Carlyle Group, commented:

“Key occupiers demand high quality accommodation as well as excellent transport links and see environmental considerations as an important factor when selecting office space. Colmore Plaza meets all such requirements given the high specification of the building, its BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and dedicated onsite facilities and building management team. Together with its location at the heart of Colmore Business District, with easy access to the city’s main arterial routes, Colmore Plaza offers unrivalled office space in the location of choice for the city’s professional community.

“This is a great start to 2010 as it is continues the strong momentum we achieved in the second half of 2009 and helps cement Colmore Plaza’s position at the top of the wish-list for any business wishing to relocate within or to Birmingham. We hope that this is the first of many such deals that we will be able to announce in the year ahead.”

The 14 Investment Directors at Williams de Broë manage in excess of £1.1bn of bespoke investment mandates for private clients and their associated trusts, pension funds, charities and tax-efficient portfolios and private funds. Colmore Plaza will provide the firm with a central and desirable address to continue to service its growing client base.

Adrian Quin, Head of the Birmingham office at Williams de Broë, said: “Our decision to relocate was made based upon the strength of the offer here at Colmore Plaza. The flexible floorplates have allowed for our future expansion as well as the essential infrastructure in place to cater for our substantial IT upgrade. The exceptionally high specification, prime location in the business centre of Birmingham made Colmore Plaza our first choice for our regional office.”

Lambert Smith Hampton acted on behalf of Williams de Broë. Joint Colmore Plaza agents are GVA Grimley and Cushman & Wakefield.

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