Car dealership chain Sytner Group is selling a trophy site in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter for a residential development opportunity of more than 350 homes.
The retailer has instructed Avison Young to secure a buyer for a 2.6-acre former BMW dealership at 20 Parade, Summer Hill, in the former industrial neighbourhood close to the city centre.
The 250-year long leasehold is owned by Sytner Group and the Schools of King Edward VI. Since Sytner opted to close its showroom last September, the industry has been waiting for a residential-led development opportunity to come to the market.
A scheme of this scale would likely have a GDV north of £100m, based on valuations of residential schemes in the area.
Avison Young is marketing the unconditional land sale with no guide price, however the strategic location is expected to exceed comparable land values in the region. Following pre-application discussions with Birmingham City Council, it has been working up prospective plans with current expectations in excess of 350 homes.
The site sits at the gateway to the high-value Jewellery Quarter, to the north of the canal and walking distance from the city core and Paradise development.
It is a street away from Galliard and Apsley’s £125m St Paul’s Quarter of 305 flats on a three-acre site, acquired in 2018 in a deal backed by a £9.4m loan from OakNorth. It is also a short distance from Moda Living’s 720-flat redevelopment of the so-called “bomb site”, a two-acre vacant site with a land value of £7.5m. Further to the north, Blackswan is developing the £120m Hockley Mills scheme of 397 flats next to the Jewellery Quarter station.
The site comprises two separate plots bisected by Camden Street, these were previously used by the former BMW new car showroom and the used car showroom.
Last month, in a pre-application meeting, Birmingham City Council reviewed initial proposals, and said it would support residential development of four storeys in keeping with the Jewellery Quarter or up to six storeys in certain circumstances. Avison Young is currently revising plans in preparation for a second pre-application meeting.
The land sale also follows Taylor Grange’s £15m unconditional acquisition of the Square on nearby Broad Street earlier this year, from Freshwater Group and the Schools of King Edward VI, with Avison Young also instructed.
Appetite for residential development opportunities in Birmingham’s city centre has surged this year, with both local and national developers taking advantage of institutional appetite for build-to-rent schemes in well-connected neighbourhoods. The Jewellery Quarter has been identified as an area for low-rise residential development in the city plan, however large plots of this type are rare.
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