Cadbury’s Brum HQ to convert to resi

Cadbury’s former Birmingham headquarters is to be converted into residential apartments as part of a £16m joint venture with Chinese investors. The apartments will be developed by Birmingham-based Court Collaboration and Hong Kong’s Headland Developments. The 74,000 sq ft Franklin House, located next to the current chocolate factory, will be converted into 96 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with an expected completion date of Christmas 2015. This is Headland Developments’ first investment in Birmingham. John Gunning, managing director at Headland Developments, said: “Birmingham has a large Chinese population and that certainly had a bearing on our decision. One of the investors has connections here and they will have picked up the phone and given them a call, asked for advice and got the thumbs up.” sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com