Opus Land and Palmer Capital have acquired a
rare warehouse and industrial site, comprising 6.35 acres in an established
Black Country location, at Severn Stars, Oldbury. Located just off Junction 2 of the M5, the former
scrapyard has been acquired with vacant possession, with funding from the
West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA’s) Collective
Investment Fund (CIF).
Opus Land seeks to meet the shortage of
Grade A warehouses in the Black Country area by building a 121,175 sq ft B2/B8
unit. The site is set to be transformed into XPANSE 120, an industrial
warehouse benefitting from offices on the first and second floors, 125 car
parking spaces, lorry parking and a secure yard. The scheme is remediating over
6 acres of brownfield land and will create 203 full time equivalent jobs.
This is the second Opus Land scheme the
WMCA has supported, after awarding the company funds from the CIF to develop
two industrial units covering 14 acres, which will provide a total of 283,000
sq ft of accommodation at the former Kingswood open-cast colliery, near
Cannock.
Harry Goodman, associate director of Opus
Land, said:
“We are delighted to be involved in
bringing forward this fantastic site in Oldbury for much-needed quality
industrial accommodation in the heart of the Black Country. We will start
construction speculatively, with completion due in Spring 2020, knowing that
units of this size and location are in very high demand. We will offer a rare,
flexible approach to occupiers seeking either freehold or leasehold options in
new-build Grade A facilities.”
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West
Midlands, said:
“This is yet another example of how, by
working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sector, we are
able to unlock unwanted and unloved brownfield land, in this case a former
scrap yard. This site will now no longer be a blight on the area, instead it
will become a large industrial unit capable of supporting many jobs and
businesses here in Sandwell.
“We are working hard across the West
Midlands to clean up derelict and contaminated brownfield sites like this to
prepare them for development, creating the jobs and houses our region needs.”
Ed Bradburn, Frontier Development Capital,
investment director for the CIF said:
“The WMCA CIF previously supported Opus Land in December 2016 to progress a speculative industrial scheme at Kingswood Lakeside, Cannock, which resulted in the successful sale of a newly constructed warehouse unit earlier this year.
"We have every confidence that the Severn Stars Road site will achieve the same success. It’s a great example of the fund in action, as the scheme is bringing a vacant site back into use to meet an increasing need for industrial units in the Black Country.”
For more information on the Collective
Investment Fund click here or
contact Ed Bradburn on 0345 319 4528.