Mailbox owners look to sell up

Nov 18 2010 by Alun Thorne

The owners of The Mailbox are looking to sell the iconic Birmingham development as they focus their attention on new projects in the city.

Birmingham Mailbox Ltd, which is owned by Alan Chatham and Mark Billingham, has appointed CB Richard Ellis and GVA Grimley to investigate the market with a view to selling the scheme – which has a potential value of about £150 million – in the new year.

The news should bring to an end increasingly fervent speculation about The Mailbox’s future within the property community amid claims earlier in the year that the development’s banks were considering putting it into administration because its value had fallen so significantly since it was refinanced at the top of the market in 2007.

However, Mr Chatham said the timing was now right to explore the possibility of selling the scheme as he and Mr Billingham looked at other opportunities.

“There is a great deal of demand for well let, cash generative properties but very few are actually coming to market,” he said. “Those that have, have generally achieved excellent prices, as illustrated by the sale of properties at Brindleyplace earlier this year.

‘We are therefore currently considering selling The Mailbox in the new year, subject to appropriate market conditions. We have appointed CB Richard Ellis and GVA Grimley to review the market opportunities. As the UK’s largest mixed use building, The Mailbox is a significant landmark for Birmingham and has been a catalyst for further regeneration of the area. Throughout the recession tenants have generally continued to trade well, with the restaurant and bar trade actually increasing with all this space fully let.

“The sale of the scheme will allow us to diversify and focus on new projects both within Birmingham and elsewhere and we are actively working towards submitting a planning application for the Post & Mail building in the early part of next year.”

The potential sale of The Mailbox comes on the back of a tough year for Mr Chatham and Mr Billingham after Lloyds Bank put the development company behind The Cube - at which both men were the major shareholders – into administration alongside the main contractor arm of the business, Build Ability. Following the appointment of administrators PwC to the iconic Make-designed building, it was reported that Lloyds, which originally financed The Mailbox, were in talks with RBS, which had taken over half the debt, over whether to call in The Mailbox as well.