Key Developments
The West Midlands is the place to create, innovate and build the future.
A region where long-term, inclusive growth is driven by strong leadership, responsible investment, world-class businesses and talented people.
Various exciting opportunities are available throughout Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and the wider region, just waiting to be discovered by real estate developers and investors. We’ve featured several key developments here, with all opportunities and investable projects detailed in a comprehensive investment prospectus.
Suppose you’re interested in the places and ecosystems around these real estate investments. In that case, you’ll want to read ‘The West Midlands: At the Centre of UK Innovation‘ report, produced by urban intelligence firm The Business of Cities, highlighting the opportunities that the West Midlands presents for developers and investors of real estate, places and ecosystems.
As a forward-thinking, future-defining region, there are a multitude of innovation-led investment opportunities for you to get involved in. There has never been a more exciting time to invest in the West Midlands.
Major innovation-led opportunities
University of Warwick’s Innovation Campus near Wellesbourne
- £250m project title
- 30 minutes to the airport
- 192 hectares
The new Innovation Campus is near Wellesbourne, 14 miles south of the main University of Warwick campus in Coventry. It is a key location, with access to London and the southeast, and the manufacturing ability of the West Midlands.
The University is seeking a long-term master developer partner to help deliver the world-leading site.
Smithfield
- 1.3m square feet
- 570 family homes
- 10,000 jobs supported
Smithfield Birmingham is a joint venture between landowner Birmingham City Council and Master Development partner Lendlease to deliver a new city centre innovation, living and leisure destination in the city of Birmingham.
It will generate homes, jobs and workspace, reshaping Birmingham City Centre. This development is seeking to partner with investors on either the overall scheme or on a phase-by-phase basis.
Birmingham Innovation Zone
- £1bn earmarked capital
- 2,200 family homes
- 1.5m square feet of commercial space
This joint venture between the city council, Aston University, and national developer Bruntwood Sci Tech, is seeking join capital partners that can bring experience of innovation-led development.
The site is primed to be an innovative area, set to draw knowledge-intensive and R&D companies. The development will merge the existing ‘Knowledge Quarter’ with the city centre, further empowering the area and making it a key aspect of Birmingham’s tech-driven economy.
Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor
- 1,220 new jobs
- 24,000 square feet
- £200m investment
Wolverhampton’s Green Innovation Corridor will connect two parts of the Wolverhampton campus, the Springfield Campus and the Science Park. It is a multi-phase development with opportunity for developers and investors.
Overall, the development will create opportunities for business growth, employment and start-ups, situated as it is in the northern gateway into the city.
Coventry and Warwick Gigapark
- 251 hectares
- 20 km to the airport
- 5.7m square feet of industrial space
Calling on battery manufacturers and capital investors to become part of this joint venture. The investment has been de-risked by local government, which has allotted funds to improving infrastructure around the site.
The Gigapark will be a big step towards meeting the rising demands of battery tech in the UK in the coming decades.
Arden Cross
- £1.5bn GDV
- 27,000 jobs
- 350 acres
Town centre regeneration opportunities
Town Centre – Walsall
- £300m+ GDV
- 8,000 jobs
- 7.5 acres
A £25 million Town Deal grant from the government will help to build 900 new residential units and create 5km of walk and cycleways – with the aim of creating the ‘healthiest town in the country’. Master-planning work underway resulting in outline planning apps for future land assembly by the council. This will build on the significant investment in the Waterfront scheme and the world-class New Art Gallery.
West Bromwich Town Centre
- £100m+ GDV
One of six towns that make up the borough of Sandwell, West Bromwich is in close proximity to Birmingham city centre through a direct metro network with a journey time of around 19 minutes. This is an opportunity to be a major development partner in the regeneration of the eastern part of the town centre, delivering over 1,600 new homes, leisure and key ancillary commercial and retail floorspace. There is a wider opportunity covering a multitude of sites that form a development area cluster of 22 hectares in West Bromwich – Sandwell’s strategic centre.
At the Centre of UK Innovation Report
