The Custard Factory has recently been sold to a partnership of three young property developers.
Former owner Lucan Gray has sold his share in the family firm to Oval Real Estate, a privately owned investment and asset management company in London.
With this sale and the imminent arrival of the HS2, Digbeth is set to change a lot over the next ten years.
Jonathan Stephens, MD of Surrenden Invest - a property investment agency also active within Digbeth - has commented on what this might mean for the future of the area.
He said: “Between December 2016 and March 2017, the biggest surge in workforce jobs in the UK was in the West Midlands, at 65,000, whereas the largest decrease was in the East of England at 36,000 (ONS), more jobs will mean more of a demand for property in the area.
“With Birmingham named the top choice for people leaving London in 2016 (ONS) and affordability of living in the capital and house prices especially being the driving force for relocation, will Digbeth become the hottest new place to live?
“There is certainly good reason to believe this could be the case as the area, so close to Birmingham city centre, New Street Station and The Bullring, receives greater attention – both from investors and the highly skilled, highly ambitious millennials flocking to the area to work and live.
“Digbeth has changed markedly over the last 20 years with the original redevelopment of the Custard Factory really kick-starting this regeneration.
“With this new acquisition by a real estate focused organisation I can only imagine what exciting plans they have for the site – not least for future residential accommodation.”
Residential property prices have already gone through a significant change in Digbeth, with selling prices rising an astronomical 401% in the last twenty years. In the last year alone, asking prices have risen by 38%.
With the sale of the custard factory and HS2 set to make access to London even easier, Digbeth could be one of the biggest property hotspots in the UK.
