Marketing Birmingham, the city's strategic marketing partnership, has signed a deal for new office premises in the city centre. The deal will see 52 staff move from the organisation's current base at Millennium Point to new premises at Baskerville House, where it will take 8,128 sq ft on the ground floor from late October 2011.

Marketing Birmingham operates the city's leisure and business tourism programmes Visit and Meet Birmingham as well as its inward investment programme, Business Birmingham. The organisation's work with a number of the city's business organisations to promote Birmingham nationally and internationally as an investment destination, as well as to support new and potential investors, has also fuelled the move.

Council-funded SME loan provider Finance Birmingham and business and professional services lobby group, Birmingham Forward, are also planning to co-locate with Marketing Birmingham at Baskerville House.

Neil Rami, Chief Executive, Marketing Birmingham, said:

"Relocating to Baskerville House is a cost effective move for us and places us in an easily accessible, central location.

"This is also an important strategic move for Marketing Birmingham. In recent months we have worked with the city's leading business organisations to position Business Birmingham as a central resource and point of contact for potential and existing investors in the city. By moving Business Birmingham, Birmingham Forward and Finance Birmingham under the same roof, we will be able to continue this work."

Peter Rees-Steer, Chief Executive, Birmingham Forward, said:

"The opportunity to work even more closely with our partners on driving Birmingham's inward investment strategy is really too good to miss. With a location next to the new Library of Birmingham; the synergies created by working alongside colleagues attracting and supporting businesses and the changes we have made to our organisation over the last year make this move both timely and exciting."

Sue Summers, Chief Executive, Finance Birmingham:

"The move to Baskerville House ensures we retain a central location and, importantly, offers a greater degree of integration with businesses that share common business objectives."

Marketing Birmingham has operated from Millennium Point since 2002. The organisation's existing office space in Millennium Point is to be taken by Birmingham City University - in line with the area's positioning as the city's 'Learning Quarter'. 

Drivers Jones Deloitte in Birmingham advised Marketing Birmingham on the office move, which included project management of the new fit out, with legal advice from Anthony Collins. CBRE acted for the Landlord.

Philippa Pickavance, Head of Agency Midlands at Drivers Jonas Deloitte said: 

"We were very pleased to be chosen to act on behalf of Marketing Birmingham in their relocation and to be able to negotiate competitive terms which made it possible for them to be able to move."

Theo Holmes, senior surveyor in the office agency team at CBRE in Birmingham, said: 

"It was important for Marketing Birmingham to find a building and location that would not only create the right image and impression of the organisation, but reflect positively on Birmingham as a business destination. Baskerville House ticked all these boxes.  

"Furthermore, its location next to the new Library of Birmingham - set to be the city's new iconic building - added to the appeal of Baskerville House."

For more information on Marketing Birmingham, please visit their website here: www.marketingbirmingham.com