A popular city for up and coming start-ups, Birmingham is fast becoming the place to be for new business. Its size provides the diversity of business many looks for in a destination, without the hefty price tags you'd find in cities such as London.
What does the City center have to offer?
The city center is perhaps the most popular place in Birmingham for professional and business services to settle - almost a third (31%) of all jobs in the center are in these sectors. Despite this, office space in Birmingham is well-prepared for a variety of business types.
Which business sectors does this area attract?
Colmore Circus is a popular destination for both financial services and insurance companies and has been long established as a desirable area for office space. As well as this, the city center is home to new office developments that include the Colmore Building, One, Two and Three Snowhill, that are set to provide plenty more office space in this up-and-coming area.
If it’s important for your business to be set within a corporate scene, Birmingham city center will suffice. Well-established businesses such as PwC and Deutsche Bank have set up a base here, as well as HSBC being set to move part of its business here in 2018, meaning the financial scene is fast becoming an important part of the center.
Other professional services that seem to thrive in the Centre include accountancies, law firms and financial advisors such as KPMG, Wesleyan Financial Services, Grant Thornton and Deloitte in the Snowhill and Colmore Row parts of the center.
As well as having a well-established financial area, Birmingham city center is also looking to the future in terms of office development.
Up-and-coming areas include Paradise Circus, set for redevelopment by the city's council.
Transport Links
Birmingham is well-connected - the airport is just a ten-minute train journey, and the city also benefits from a high-speed rail service connecting it to London (travel time is just 1 hour 25 minutes).
Amenities
The city centre is a great choice for businesses that want to be at the heart of the city’s corporate scene, but it’s also ideal for socialising. Restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes are in abundance, providing the ideal location for all manner of meetings - from team lunches to client meetings.
Why pick this area?
Eastside is one to watch if you’re looking to be at the heart of brand new development. Set for significant works thanks to the council’s ‘Big City Plan’, areas such as Curzon Street will see big changes.
What does Eastside have to offer?
Eastside is a large area - it spans 15 acres and is set to benefit from the upcoming HS2 terminus station, as well as the city center Enterprise Zone.
Birmingham City University has set up a base here, in a 55,000 sq ft office, making this area a good place to be if being close to educational facilities will be beneficial to your company.
Transport Links
Continuing Birmingham’s well-connected features, once the upcoming HS2 is completed, commuters and businesses alike could travel to London in just 45 minutes, opening up a whole new world of opportunity by connecting the Midlands to the capital.
Amenities
Other features of Eastside include Millennium Point, where you can find the Thinktank museum, as well as the Parkside Media House.
Which business sectors does this area attract?
This part of Birmingham is ideal if you're looking to be surrounded by some big corporate brands. It's home to around 300 businesses, and benefits from Brindley Place - a recently refurbished and relatively inexpensive - office space.
The area is popular with companies in the media industry, with familiar names such as the BBC, Galaxy, Heart FM and ITV Carlton having offices here.
Well-established financial companies also have a presence here, including companies such as Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and RBS.
Location/ Transport Links
As well as being close to the International Convention Centre, Westside is well connected to the center - it's just a 12-minute walk to Birmingham New Street station, but the peripheral location of spaces such as Brindley Place offers significant savings to those looking to set up office space here.
Amenities
The area's also well-equipped for socialising. From a casual work lunch to an award-winning client dinner, there are plenty of choices. For post-work relaxing, Birmingham's Broad Street is popular, featuring bars of all sizes as well as entertainment venues.
In this part of Birmingham, the Mailbox - an area for shopping and dining - is situated on the waterfront, making it the ideal place for after-work socialising.
What does Digbeth have to offer?
Digbeth is known for its trendy atmosphere. It's busy, artistic, and in a great location - just a ten-minute walk from the Bullring. It's popular with the creative and technology industries and is expected to undergo significant development to increase its offering for living, working and the arts.
Amenities/ Transport Links
The amenities here have seen start-ups and creative industries thrive. It's under development, sees lots of like-minded businesses coming together and is a great place to be for a new business. It's close to Birmingham New Street Station, and also benefits from having a coach station, serviced by National Express.
In Digbeth, The Custard Factory is the place to be for all things social. From team lunches, client meetings or picking up some proper coffees for the team, this place has all you need. Full of independents, it's easy to see why start-ups and small businesses are drawn to this area.
Why pick this area of Birmingham?
Despite being about ten miles from Birmingham city center, Solihull has become something of a hub by itself, featuring a thriving automotive and transport industry. Here, you'll find numerous business parks such as the Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham International Park and Trinity Park.
Business Parks - Location/ Transport
The Birmingham Business Park, to the north of the center of Solihull, provides easy access to transport links - it's just five minutes from Birmingham Airport and International Rail Station.
The park itself is large, spread over 148 acres with a good mix of businesses, including EE, ATOS, Capita and Pinewood Technology, as well as car manufacturer Changan Automotive.
Birmingham International Park and Trinity Park are to the south of Birmingham Business Park, located right next to the train station. Trinity Park is used purely for office space, while Birmingham International Park features more of a mixture of amenities. Trinity is home to businesses such as Alpro, RLC UK and Lloyds Shipping.
Another business park in Solihull is Blythe Valley Park. This 257-acre space is perhaps the most comparable to Birmingham Business Park and is just ten minutes from the center.
Solihull is also home to the FORE business park. The two office buildings here are available at a competitive price, thanks to the park's proximity to the M42 as well as the high-quality environment it offers. eTech Southern and UTC Aerospace are just two of the businesses that have locations here.
If you're looking for an out-of-town location in Birmingham, Solihull provides. It's a popular location with companies in the public services sector, as well as finance, business and professional services.
Transport Links
Solihull is a great location if you need to be within easy reach of the M42, M40, M5 and M6. It's also close to Birmingham International Airport, giving you access to the high-speed rail connection between Birmingham and London.
Amenities
There's also plenty to offer in terms of a social scene too. Bars and cafes are in abundance, as well as featuring green spaces ideal for lunchtime strolls.
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