‘The Midlands has all the ingredients’ – Q&A with Prologis’ Paul Weston

The bank has provided a £19.25m senior development loan to finance delivery of a 233-bed student accommodation scheme in Edgbaston.

A £10bn regeneration plan, anchored on HS2 and a new development corporation, must deliver for communities as well as businesses, the Mayor of the West Midlands says.

The East Midlands will sit at the forefront of a United Nations backed programme for sustainable city development, after the city was chosen to head up a global initiative.

The group has marked a 14th consecutive year of profitability despite challenging market conditions for the year ending 31 August 2025. 

Chris Taylor, senior vice president at Federated Hermes and chair of MEPC, and Simon Pistell, risk director at L&G, both have extensive careers in the regeneration and investment sectors and will provide independent oversight to the newly launched public finance institution. 

Ecommerce logistics provider Cainiao, part of Alibaba Group, is expanding its operations in the UK through a new 150,900 sq ft facility near Daventry.

The Midlands office agency team at JLL has been strengthened with new appointments at director level, Andy Riach and Richard Williams both joining from Lambert Smith Hampton.

The family-owned investor-developer has paid an undisclosed sum to add Canal View Business Park, a 58,400 sq ft multi-let industrial estate in Rugeley, to its holdings.

The specialist in UK multi-let sites has acquired a commercial terrace in the Mucklow Hill area of Halesowen for £3.4m.