Commercial property – Refurbishments and conversions
4th July 2008
Comment from Kevin campbell, partner at property and construction firm RLF in Birmingham
“The last 12 months have seen a significant amount of new office space created in and around the West Midlands, with flagship developments such as Colmore Plaza, Building 11 at BrindleyPlace and the current Snow Hill development providing a real showcase for the city.
“However, while these new buildings are very welcome, we have also recently seen a significant upturn in the number of refurbishment projects we are being asked to get involved with.
“Refurbishment and conversion is often a more cost-effective solution for building owners and investors than redeveloping and building new premises and it does not mean that facilities are second-rate.
“There is a lot that can be done to upgrade existing building stock, from redesigning internal layouts and facilities to meet the changing demands of business in the 21st century, through to improving energy efficiency, telecommunications and even parking facilities.
“The recently completed high profile refurbishment projects at 54 Hagley Road (140,000 sq ft) and 123-127 Hagley Road (130,000 sq ft) are testament to this, with both currently marketed as high quality, refurbished office accommodation.
“On a more superficial level, building owners are increasingly looking to revamp not just the interior but also the exterior of their office buildings to create workplaces that appeal to the current needs of the business world.
“This is particularly the case for those buildings originally constructed in the ‘60s and ‘70s and you only have to take a journey out of the city centre along the Hagley Road to see evidence of commercial developments that have been given a new lease of life thanks to such makeovers.
“With city-centre space at a premium, the credit crunch continuing to bite, both in terms of the money that companies have to spend on their premises and the availability of funding for new development sites, I would expect to see refurbishment becoming an increasingly popular choice over the next period of time.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Elizabeth Green or Gemma Perks on 0121 772 5533 or email elizabethgreen@armadillo-pr.com or gemmaperks@armadillo-pr.com
Notes to Editor:
Robinson Low Francis (RLF) is a UK firm of construction and property consultants, with over 100 years of experience in the industry. The company provides services to public and private sector clients and is currently involved in projects with a total value well in excess of £1billion.
RLF has 170 staff spread across eight offices around the UK – Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Stevenage – and was recently voted one of the UK’s top professional services firms in the “MPF100 Best Professional Firms to Work For” survey.
Key areas of work are quantity surveying, project management, engineering services, building surveying, management consulting, health and safety services and more recently specialist sustainability advice to meet the major environmental changes in the industry.
RLF works across the commercial, education, government & defence, healthcare, industrial, office, residential, retail and sport & leisure sectors, to provide clients with innovative solutions to their construction and property needs. Clients include Royal Mail, John Lewis, Grosvenor, Pfizer and Barclays. For more information visit www.rlf.co.uk