Chasing the deal: Corkfield’s investment attractiveness and champion outcomes

In Howard Wilkinson, they had their man. The manager was steering an upwardly mobile Sheffield Wednesday team in English football’s top division.

Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, on the other hand, were languishing in the second division, seemingly with no real hope of gaining promotion after many managers had failed in turning the club’s direction around.

The situation for Leeds required a radical solution and Wilkinson – nicknamed Sergeant Wilko for his dour, disciplined approach to management – was deemed the right man for the job.

The real question, though, was why would Wilkinson want to jump down a division when all was going well at Sheffield Wednesday?

Undeterred by the odds against them, the Leeds management – led by ambitious chairman Leslie Silver – approached Wilkinson with their offer. It was declined, but the club didn’t give up and, after a disagreement with the board at Sheffield Wednesday, the unthinkable appointment was made.

The year was 1988 and four years later, Leeds had not only won promotion to the top division, but Wilkinson had fashioned a team crowned champions of England.

The conviction in the value of bringing Wilkinson to Leeds had been fully validated – and then some!

Chasing the deal

Like Leslie Silver and the Leeds board, Antonio Marin-Bataller had a deal in his sights in 2014. Unlike the example above, the deal was based further south in Birmingham. Land was available to purchase in a prestigious part of the city. Just like the football example, though, the initial enquiry was refused but the story didn’t end there.

“I chased the deal for two years,” Antonio shares. “A new CEO had come on board since initially engaging in enquiries about the site and he was more open to doing business. We managed to execute an extremely good land purchase.”

The land Antonio is referring to is in Edgbaston, next to Edgbaston Stadium – home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club (CCC) and a regular host of international matches - and now home to Corkfield – an award-winning 375-unit build-to-rent (BTR) residential scheme.

Leafy location

So, what was it about the area that made it worth pursuing?

“Edgbaston is one of the prime areas in Birmingham,” Antonio explains. “Moseley is a desirable residential location too, and the site we landed was right in the middle of the two.

Exclusive Edgbaston

While developments in Moseley are understandably attractive, available building stock in Edgbaston is notably scarce. This is due to its history of ownership by the Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (usually referred to as just Calthorpe) family for over 300 years.

Edgbaston was originally bought by London merchant Sir Richard Gough in 1717, who was eager to maintain the rural scenery of the area by prohibiting warehouses and workshops to be built there. Its heritage, therefore, is as an attractive suburb outside of Birmingham’s city centre.

Gifts of land over time were given to the University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Warwickshire CCC, while the aesthetic focus of the area is burnished by Cannon Hill Park – a 250-acre park created by the Calthorpe family in the 20th century.

Change was thrust upon the area as a result of the housing need following the Second World War, with Edgbaston designated an inner-city area and population density targets set conforming to the UK’s then new town planning system. Edgbaston’s development since has focused on the living sector, with subsequent policies relating to housing making this a less than straightforward process, and a business area has been introduced. The link to the past remains through Calthorpe Estates acting as a property investor and developer, with the Calthorpe family still very much involved in shaping Edgbaston’s destiny.

“The area is exclusive,” Antonio says. “Building access is extremely limited. It’s a unique strategic position. To the west is Moseley which is where a lot of young families choose to live. It's got a nice high street and farmers' market. Moseley is more affordable than Edgbaston. For this reason, the investment made a lot of sense. The area is near Cannon Hill Park – the largest park in Birmingham, which supports residents’ wellbeing.”

While most BTR schemes are usually home to a high proportion of students, Corkfield – understandably given the location characteristics – has just a 3% proportion of students living there, with young, affluent families grasping the opportunity to live in this attractive part of Birmingham.

Anticipating the boom in Birmingham

To go even further back, why was Birmingham on PATRIZIA’s radar at the time?

“We were one of the early movers in Birmingham,” Antonio explains.

Having bought the site in 2016, the hard work didn’t end there. Planning permission approvals were achieved in 2018 and the building contract signed in 2020. Building began in January 2021 and was completed in November 2023.

Besides the 375 apartments, the development’s ground floor is used for retail space. There’s a residential lounge, a co-working space, a wellness studio, a roof terrace, private dining rooms and communal gardens. The development also includes parking spaces and bike storage, and is pet-friendly. Dotted around the communal areas are ‘pooch pods’ with extra spaces for dogs to rest on their return from their many walks.

Canine comfort: The 'pooch pods'

The development was delivered on time, within budget and to a high sustainability specification.

Placemaking – and building smarter communities

“At the time it was being built, one of the biggest growth industries was health and wellbeing,” Antonio says. “The design took this into account. It’s a perfect example of placemaking.”

Placemaking is core to PATRIZIA’s purpose of ‘building smarter communities and sustainable futures’. Like original Edgbaston landowner Sir Richard Gough, Corkfield brings inspiration from the UK capital.

“We designed the scheme to London design guidelines. There are design guidelines you have to adhere to in London, particularly in relation to apartment size. The specifications at Corkfield are therefore very good. It’s a very nice, safe environment.”

The HomeViews Resident Choice award is notable for being part of a group of awards voted and awarded entirely based on resident feedback - a testament to the development’s quality and community focus.

As part of this community focus, PATRIZIA has worked closely with Warwickshire CCC and the Midlands Art Centre (MAC), which sits opposite Corkfield. The company partnered with MAC on its ‘In Common’ photography exhibition and facilitated sponsored art events with well-known British artists, Grayson Perry and Michael Pinsky. The Corkfield website showcases a fuller picture of the community engagement undertaken.

Corkfield has also achieved several certifications to demonstrate its quality and sustainability credentials, including WiredScore Platinum, Homes Quality Mark Level 3 and Fitwell Level 2.

The asset is 95% leased, with a PureGym and food store on site for residents and locals alike. “We’ve made it a destination,” Antonio shares.

Team effort

In addition to Antonio’s pivotal role throughout, the ‘we’ extends to a larger band of people and companies. At PATRIZIA alone, this has comprised Investment Management professionals with skills across development, asset management and fund management; the Corporate Finance team who secured strong financing; and the Tax and Regulation team (who deserve praise for navigating these two areas despite the UK being rather complicated on this front, according to Antonio).

“Corkfield is a showcase of the depth and breadth of PATRIZIA’s capabilities, both in terms of delivering a quality product and delivering for the community, tenants and investors,” Antonio states. “We have surpassed investors’ expectations, generating double-digit returns.”

“A deal worth fighting for”

For Antonio, the deal and subsequent delivery represents a career-high, with everything coming together and his view on the opportunity and conviction in its role as an essential part of PATRIZIA’s living portfolio fully validated – much as the Leeds board were with their conviction about Wilkinson.

Corkfield is testament to PATRIZIA’s entrepreneurial spirit and its success a team effort across multiple disciplines within the business.

“It is the sum of all the parts that has moved the needle with Corkfield,” Antionio adds. “From the development team to tax and finance, all have played a major part. Add some perseverance and hard graft from all involved and it has all worked perfectly in generating accretive, long-lasting value.

“They talk about 'deals which make you' and this was one.

“Rents have gone up by 30-35%. We knew we were on to something good. It was a real stretch to convince people, but we persisted. It was a deal worth fighting for.”