2 Colmore Square
Two Colmore Square, or Priory House as it was then known, and the adjoining Cannon House, which together comprise over 300,000 sq.ft. of office and retail space, was acquired in June 2004 for 43,250,000 in a Limited Liability Partnership with two other organisations.
The building is situated within the City's prime office core being at one end of Colmore Row. The property fronts onto Colmore Square and Priory Queensway in central Birmingham and due to its c.40,000 sq ft floor plate straddles both Colmore Square and Old Square. It was originally built as part flatted warehouse and part department store which was subsequently converted to offices in the 1980s. It was home to Charles Schwab, ROSPA and NatWest Home Loans.
Adjacent occupiers currently include KPMG, Barclays Bank, West Midlands Police, Wragge & Co, Direct Line Insurance, Pinsent Masons, Wesleyan Assurance, Cobbetts, and AMEY.
Following the acquisition the original intention was to carry out a cosmetic refurbishment. Once the existing tenants had left, however, it quickly became clear that all floors and ceilings needed to be replaced and a more comprehensive project was commenced. The original structure of the building provided huge clear floor to ceiling heights which allows us to refurbish the accommodation as and when space becomes vacant to provide not just suspended ceilings, but also a floor void sufficient to take even the most complex of cabling or a floor mounted air conditioning system.
The Cannon House phase was completed first and c.70,000 sq ft is now let to three office occupiers, being Arriva, the Insolvency Service and the Legal Services Commission. The top two floors, which link through to Two Colmore Square, remain available.
Level 7 at Two Colmore Square has been refurbished to Developer's Cat A standard, with the remainder of the floors being to shell and core only. This allows an incoming occupier ultimate flexibility on their layout and if our Cat A and the Tenants Cat B are completed at the same time we can demonstrate savings of up to 30% on the occupier's Cat B costs.
Part of level 2 in Two Colmore Square of 13,000 sq ft and a ground floor retail unit providing access has been let to BPP University, but the building can still offer a 100,000 sq ft self contained option. The only one currently available in central Birmingham.
The ground floor across the building is let to retailers including Lloyds TSB, Trailfinders, Snow and Rock, Philpotts and Franja Hair.
The building was awarded BREEAM excellent certification and has an EPC Rating of B with a high score of 39. It has also won both Property Week and BCO awards.
Basement car parking totaling 150 car parking spaces offering a ratio of 1:1,500 sq ft, double that available with any brand new building, is available.
