178 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, B70 6QG
Office block with development potential in West Bromwich
Guide price*
£1,200,000+
Plus fees
Sold prior to auction, for an undisclosed amount
Lot information
Commercial Vacant
Land/Development
Auction details:
Thursday 10th July 2025 @ 08:30AM
Freehold HQ building with development potential
Property Description
178 Birmingham Road comprises a substantial detached office headquarter building with accommodation over ground and floor upper floors. The property is set back from the main Birmingham Road and access via two separate front entrances, one leading to a main reception area and the other with direct access to the stairwell and passenger lift, serving all floors. The offices on each floor wrap around a central core with ladies and gents WC facilities to all floors. The property benefits from recent upgrades including a staff kitchen/breakout area and glass portioned offices. The building extends to approximately 14,966 sq. ft. ( 1390.9 sq. m) over ground and four upper floors with 47 onsite car parking spaces accessed from both the Birmingham Road and adjacent Roebuck Lane. The building is currently configured as office accommodation of mainly open plan layout, with the following internal specification: • 1,617 sq. ft to 3,357 sq. ft floorplates • Suspended ceilings • Carpeted floors • Air conditioning • Perimeter trunking • 1 x 8-person passenger liftsLocation
The property occupies a prominent position on the main Birmingham Road just off Junction 1 of the M5 Motorway, on the outskirts of West Bromwich Town centre. The property is situated by the A41 Expressway (Birmingham Road), which links nearby West Bromwich with Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Solihull. Birmingham is approximately 5 miles east via the A41 (or M6 and A38M), London 120 miles southeast via the M40, Bristol 87 miles south-west via the M5 and Manchester 80 miles north via the M6. Road communications are therefore excellent as the property is located at the centre of the UK motorway network. National rail services are available from Birmingham New Street, Snow Hill, and Moor Street. In addition, the West Midlands Metro links the property to West Bromwich town centre, Wolverhampton, and Birmingham City Centre.Accommodation
Ground Floor: 1,617 sq.ft. - 150.3 sq.m.First Floor: 3,338 sq.ft. - 310.2 sq.m.
Second Floor: 3,338 sq.ft. - 310.2 sq.m.
Third Floor: 3,357 sq.ft. - 312 sq.m.
Fourth Floor: 3,316 sq.ft. - 308.2 sq.m.
Total: 14,966 sq.ft. - 1390.89 sq.m.
Outside: The property benefits from a 45 space car park to the rear of the property with duel driveway access from Birmingham Road and Roebuck Lane.
Energy Performance Rating
See legal pack.Tenure
Freehold – Vacant possession upon completion.Planning
Due to the results of the Sandwell Housing Delivery Test 2020, the NPPF presumption in favour of sustainable development would be enacted for any future development of the property and it is considered that it could be suitable for a variety of uses, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents.RESIDENTIAL: Due to current housing shortages in the area, there is a strong potential case for residential development of the site. There are several examples of office buildings being converted to residential accommodation in the immediate and wider vicinity, resulting in extremely limited stock of this scale still available for development. The building would therefore lend itself to conversion to a relatively high-density scheme of apartments and starter homes to assist with local housing needs. It is expected that this could be achieved by formal planning application utilising the presumption in favour of sustainable development or via Permitted Development Rights.
OFFICE: The current Local Plan identifies the property as a landmark building for high quality office uses at the gateway to West Bromwich and the M5 Motorway. The M5 Corridor office market has a diverse occupier base with largely consistent take-up (5 year average of circa 215,000 sq. ft per annum) and a gradually diminishing level of supply, especially above 10,000 sq. ft. These dynamics have resulted in rental levels and lease lengths increasing and this is expected to continue with the growing popularity of city fringe and out of town locations, with current headline rents in West Bromwich of circa £16 per sq. ft reflecting scope for uplift relative to other M5 Corridor locations.
Value Added Tax
We understand VAT is not applicable on this transaction.Pre-auction Offers
Please note that offers in excess of the guide price may be considered prior to the Auction Sale.Viewings
Strictly by appointment with the Auctioneers.DISCLAIMER
Bond Wolfe or their Agents for the seller of these Lots give notification that any particulars contained within the catalogue/website are prepared to the best of their knowledge and include information that has been provided to them. Plans, photographs and room measurements (provided via a 3rd party) are provided as guidance only and should not be relied upon. All potential buyers should make their own enquiries and investigations to the accuracy of the information contained in these particulars or to obtain further information that is not provided which they deem to be important prior to bidding. Any amendments to the particulars that Bond Wolfe are aware of will be published on the addendum, which is available within the lot information.
VIEWINGS
Buyers are deemed to have viewed the property (if access is available), viewed the virtual tours where applicable and undertaken all their due diligence checks prior to bidding.
All viewings are undertaken at your own risk. It is recommended that you take a torch, as not all properties have electricity, and that appropriate clothing is worn. Bond Wolfe under no circumstances shall be liable and will not accept any responsibility for any indirect incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages, injury and/or death arising in connection with your access to any property, caused as a result of the property’s state of repair or your use/decision to use your own equipment or any furniture, equipment or appliances in the property.
LIVE-STREAMED AUCTION
Please note that the Auction will be livestreamed via our website. You can take part remotely via Proxy, Telephone or Online, if you wish to bid you must pre-register via our website no later than 3pm the day prior to the auction. Please click here for further details.
*DEFINITION OF GUIDE & RESERVE PRICE
All properties are sold subject to a reserve price, which is the minimum price the seller is willing to accept and is confidential between the seller and Auctioneer. The guide price is only an indication as to where the reserve is currently set and not necessarily the Auctioneers expectation of what it will sell for. If the guide price is a bracket figure, then the reserve price cannot be higher than the top end of the guide price, if the guide price is a fixed figure, then the reserve cannot be more than 10% above the guide price. The guide price and reserve price can be subject to change at any time up to and including the auction day and, properties can often sell for substantially more than the quoted guide price.
COSTS AT AUCTION
When buying at auction you will unconditionally exchange contracts on the fall of the auctioneer’s gavel, please therefore ensure you have read the legal pack for each property prior to bidding. They are all individual and include the terms and conditions of your purchase as well as any costs in addition to the purchase price.
The sale of each lot is subject to an administration fee of £2,340 inc VAT (£1,950.00 + VAT) (unless otherwise stated in the important information), payable on the fall of the gavel/at the end of the online auction. Please note that the administration fee for the Local Authority lots may differ and all interested parties should enquire directly with the Auctioneers as to the fee applicable.
Any additional costs excluding the administration fee will be listed in the Special Conditions within the legal pack and these costs will be payable on completion. The legal pack has been prepared by the seller’s solicitor(s), who are responsible for its contents and disclosing all know information. It is available to download free of charge under the ‘lot information’, and you take responsibility for reading and understanding the legal pack and are bound by all the contents. Any stamp duty and/or government taxes are not included within the Special Conditions within the legal pack and all potential buyers must make their own investigations.
