Birmingham appoints AY to review commercial investments

Birmingham City Council has appointed Avison Young to evaluate its portfolio of 5,500 property interests. It will advise on improvement, growth and change management, including new acquisitions, over the next two or three years. The council is the largest landowner in Birmingham, with 26,000 acres in the portfolio, including freehold interests at major schemes such as Moda’s Great Charles Street site, and the city’s largest regenerations at Martineau Galleries and Smithfield. Birmingham’s commercial investment property portfolio generates £32m in income a year. Avison Young is also advising the council on its hunt for a development partner at the Ladywood regeneration and the Commonwealth Games development. The appointment comes as the government clamps down on local authority investment in commercial assets for yield. In March, it launched a consultation on measures that would prevent councils borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board if they have debt-for-yield investments anywhere in their capital plans. Recent government figures reveal Birmingham City Council as the council with the largest PWLB debt, having amassed some £2.4bn in borrowing to back major infrastructure and regeneration plans. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette