Bruntwood SciTech marks completion of £4.5m transformation of iconic Centre City

The UK’s largest dedicated property platform serving the growth of the nation's science, tech and innovation sectors, Bruntwood SciTech announces the completion of its £4.5m redevelopment of Centre City. The work has seen the iconic Birmingham landmark transformed into a central hub for the city’s high-growth businesses, delivering cutting-edge workspaces and high-quality wellness amenities supporting the rapid growth of Birmingham's innovation sectors.

With Centre City’s redevelopment, Bruntwood SciTech - a joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and Greater Manchester Pension Fund - has focused on creating new spaces for businesses of all sizes, and those looking to drive collaboration, fuel innovation and prioritise wellbeing. The newly refurbished 20 storey, 210,000 sq ft building now offers a range of flexible and scalable workspaces for companies at various stages of growth. 

As part of efforts to deliver an enhanced wellness experience for businesses located at Centre City, significant improvements have also been made to amenities throughout the building. At the heart of this is a new floor to ceiling living wall on arrival at the building, and greenery throughout all communal and coworking spaces including a new lounge and expansive green atrium. A new state-of-the-art wellness centre, fitness studio and café will also provide companies with facilities to encourage and prioritise active travel, wellbeing and work-life balance.

Bruntwood SciTech’s commitment to delivering sustainable workspaces has been central to the redevelopment of Centre City. The introduction of sustainability-focused features has been prioritised throughout the building, with improved air quality systems and energy-efficient heating central to the building's renewed proposition. Alongside the installation of more efficient air conditioning in the new basement gym and air quality sensors in reception and atrium, the water supply will be heated by an innovative new Air Source Heat Pump.

As part of Bruntwood SciTech’s commitment to sustainability, the common areas of the building will be powered by 100% renewable energy. The project provides clean energy across the business’ portfolio as Bruntwood SciTech works to ensure that all operations under its direct control will be net zero by 2030. 

A hub for championing Birmingham’s innovators

A prominent feature of the Birmingham skyline since the 1960s, Centre City - alongside neighbouring innovation hubs and campuses in the city centre, including Cornerblock, Mclaren, Cornwall Buildings and Innovation Birmingham - helps to bring together over 130 digital, tech and innovation-led companies as part of Bruntwood SciTech’s innovation ecosystem in Birmingham, fostering connections, collaboration, and access to growth support. Centre City alone hosts a diverse business community including global tech giant Hitachi and the Ministry of Justice. Its thriving community is testament to the building’s unparalleled connectivity, being only a five minute walk from the central Birmingham transport hub of New Street Station.  

Those at Centre City also have access to all of the facilities at these hubs, offering a wide range of meeting rooms, breakout spaces and event spaces. Increasing investment into infrastructure for these high growth sectors is continuing to deliver growth in Birmingham’s knowledge economy. In December, the company revealed that in the last year alone it had welcomed 20 new innovation-led businesses and supported the growth of five more across its Birmingham hubs. 

Organisations moving to Centre City will also be provided with Bruntwood SciTech’s innovation growth services and national community of over 1,100 science, tech and innovation-led businesses. This includes direct access to the brightest talent, connections to capital and investment, and introductions to established partners across its sizeable network, including the Wealth Midlands Growth Company, Tech WM, Supertech WM, and Medilink Midlands, as well as key academic institutions such as Aston University and the University of Birmingham. 

Centre City’s transformation reinforces Bruntwood SciTech’s commitment to supporting Birmingham’s growing innovation economy and providing the best possible environments for businesses to co-locate, collaborate and innovate. The completion of Centre City represents the latest milestone in Bruntwood SciTech’s delivery of £52.5m worth of investment into Birmingham over the past 12 months. The company has completed works to enhance wellbeing and customer experience at Cornerblock in the Colmore Business District, has continued construction on the first phase of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus - the Midlands’ first dedicated life sciences campus, and is underway with a full refurbishment of Mclaren, adjacent to the future HS2 terminal.

Rob Valentine, Regional Director for Bruntwood SciTech said: “Birmingham is rapidly becoming one of the UK’s most exciting innovation hubs, with over 2,000 tech startups and more than 6,000 tech businesses calling the city their base. In particular, we’re developing real strength and expertise in subsectors like fintech, digital marketing, medtech and gaming, and that’s in no small part down to the unparalleled talent, excellent links to academia and extensive business support networks on offer in the city.

“Continuing to invest in this ecosystem and the infrastructure that supports it will be crucial to keeping up momentum and unlocking future growth and innovation in the city. Our transformation of Centre City, alongside its proximity to New Street Station, will see it become a crucial part of this supportive innovation ecosystem, helping to drive increased interest in the city from new and growing businesses. More and more businesses are demanding the very best from their workspace facilities and amenities, and we’re confident that we’ve created an environment that will allow ambitious businesses to create, innovate and succeed, as well as fully take advantage of the city’s status as a focal state-of-the-art innovation hub.” 

Underlining Bruntwood SciTech’s commitment to Birmingham is the recent expansion of its West Midlands-based team following the appointment of Molly Cook as Associate Commercial Director. Molly joins the company following six years at Colliers where she gained a wealth of experience understanding the needs of businesses in the Central Birmingham office market. A qualified chartered surveyor, Molly will oversee attracting innovation-led businesses of all sizes to Bruntwood SciTech’s burgeoning like-minded community in Birmingham across its campuses and city centre innovation hubs.

Molly Cook, Associate Commercial Director for Bruntwood SciTech said: “In my previous role I was able to gain a real appreciation for the vital role that Bruntwood SciTech has in the Birmingham innovation ecosystem and so am thrilled to now have the opportunity to play an active role in supporting the company’s customers to grow, and attract new like-minded startups, scaleups and global businesses into some of the city’s most exciting new, growth-focused schemes. Supporting innovation-led, tech and science-driven businesses is how we will create a lasting legacy for this region, as well as make our mark on the wider UK innovation economy and I’m excited to be at the heart of it.” 

Bruntwood SciTech’s agents for Centre City are Newmark, Lambert Smith Hampton and Savills.

For further information and to enquire about space with us in Birmingham click here.