Martley snaps up flagship Birmingham offices in £60m deal
One of Birmingham’s best known buildings has been acquired in a cut-price deal by Martley Capital, with the group targeting £500m of investment in its regional office platform over the next year.
The Lewis Building, and adjoining Priory Court, were put up for sale on behalf of receivers in 2025 – around six years after the buildings were acquired by Gulf Islamic Investments for £140m.
The former department store, which was opened as a retail operation in the 1920’s by David Lewis but closed down in 2001, was converted as 254,000 sq ft of office space in 2017. Tenants include the Ministry of Justice alongside Regus and Freightliner, generating around £7m of passing rent annually.
Martley Capital says its business plan for The Lewis Building will revolve around proactive asset management, including leasing vacant accommodation, lease re-gears and targeted capital investment to further enhance the building’s amenity offering.
The firm says it expects to drive a significant increase in rental income over the investment period while positioning the building, a short walk from regeneration schemes at Martineau Place and Curzon Street, to benefit from continued rental growth across Birmingham’s office market.
“Whilst I have remained a long time exponent of regional offices, I accept that many investors remain unconvinced that work from home and AI will not substantially impact demand, which is what is giving us this opportunity,” said Martley Capital chief executive, Richard Croft.
“I happen to believe that WFH has morphed to a more office friendly agile working requirement and that AI, whilst it will have an impact, could lead to substantially enhanced productivity that in turn could cause an upswing in the economy.
“The construction inflation that the market has experienced over the last five years coupled with the impact of ESG and permitted development means that there has been a substantial reduction in stock over the last 10 years. We expect that reduction to continue and that provides a substantial mitigant to any demand impact – which is why we are seeing record rental growth in the sector.”
The acquisition follows Martley’s purchase of three Grade A regional offices in Newcastle, Chester and Liverpool earlier this year for its regional office fund, as well as the purchase of 4 Temple Row, Birmingham late in 2025. The firm has deployed around £110m to the fund so far.
CBRE has been approached for comment.
