Wragge & Co LLP Real Estate group has advised Birmingham City University (formerly the University of Central England) on the acquisition and development of a 37,000 sq m site in Birmingham's Eastside. The university will build a new £130 million city centre campus on the site.

The site in Eastside's Learning and Leisure Quarter was previously identified as a possible home for Birmingham's central library. Together with the university's existing Eastside locations, the completed campus will have more than 50,000 sq m of facilities and will be home to about 10,000 students. It will be one of three future campus locations for the university, bringing together arts, media, technology and design, including the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design and Birmingham Conservatoire, in one location.

Mary Martin, Birmingham City University Pro-Vice-Chancellor, said: "This is a once in lifetime opportunity to create a new city campus. We hope to have plans and designs which will inspire learning, research and knowledge transfer and make a significant impact in the city, region and further afield. The team at Wragge & Co has done a tremendous job getting us to this stage and will be a great help in delivering our vision."

Real estate partner Mark Chester led a Wragge & Co team assisted by associate Clare Regan. The team also advised on the associated funding arrangements with Advantage West Midlands.

Mark Chester said: "Birmingham City University is an important local, national and international education institution so we are very pleased to have helped it secure the right site for its continuing development and success. It's another Wragge & Co deal in Eastside as we help create a vibrant cultural and technology centre Birmingham can be proud of."

Eastside is a ten-year, multi-billion pound project to transform the east side of Birmingham City centre with a new City Park, a Learning and Leisure Quarter and Ventureast, a technology park. Wragge & Co is involved in a number of Eastside projects including Countryside, Quintain and Birmingham City Council's City Park Gate scheme and Development Securities and Grainger Trust's Curzon Park mixed-use development.

Birmingham City University has around 23,000 students based on eight main teaching campuses in and around Birmingham. In 2006, it appointed Wragge & Co to advise on its multi-million pound real estate strategy and redevelopment programme. Wragge & Co's real estate experts acted on the disposals of Cambrian Hall and Gosta Green sites to Targetfollow and Aston University, respectively. They also advised on the acquisition of a site at The Hub in Perry Barr.

Wragge & Co's 27-partner Real Estate group is one of the largest full-service real estate practices in the UK. Its experts advise developers, investors, public sector bodies and major corporates on legal matters ranging from asset management to complex structuring; from litigation to planning; and from regeneration to tax.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Michelle Dolphin on +44 (0)121 213 2369

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.