Valor Real Estate Partners (“Valor”), Europe’s fastest growing last-mile real estate specialist, has completed a 57,000 sq ft pre-let to Specialist Computer Centres (“SCC”) at Oscar House, in Birmingham. Having acquired the urban logistics property in 2021, Valor subsequently undertook a significant capex programme, which included a 6,000 sq ft extension and a number of sustainability initiatives that improved the building’s EPC rating from a D to an A.

The refurbishment programme, which completed in February 2023, included fully upgrading the building fabric to improve energy efficiency, installing modern systems including VRF heating, LED lighting and low use water technologies, and the installation EV charging stations. The 15-year lease with SCC, a global IT solutions company, also includes a green clause which mandates the sharing of energy usage data to ensure the asset operates as efficiently as possible.

The property is ideally located in the Tyseley district of Birmingham, with the City Centre and M42 accessible with 7 minutes and 10 minutes’ drive time respectively and 5.6 million people living within a 60-minute drive. Tyseley is a critical hub for SCC’s operations, with this letting demonstrating its commitment to driving employment and investment in the area, whilst the green credentials of the asset align closely with its own business ethos.

Birmingham is a key growth market for Valor. Logistics take-up in 2022 was 58% above the long-term average, and with a limited development pipeline, vacancy rates remain close to historic lows at c. 3%.

Will Outram, Associate, Asset Management at Valor, commented: “Oscar House is the latest example of our ability to identify critically undersupplied pockets in dominant European cities where we can generate both capital and rental uplifts through targeted asset management. We are increasingly focused on delivering a highly sustainable product via retrofitting, which reduces the embodied carbon, and both supports our tenants in achieving their own ESG goals and is more cost-efficient to occupy.”

Valor was advised on the letting by Harris Lamb, Savills, and Avison Young.