Sterling, the developer behind the city’s flagship 103 Colmore Row office scheme, bought the asset – at 27 Fleet Street and 65 Lionel Street – from LGIM.

M&B, one of the largest operators of restaurants, pubs and bars in the UK, has a circa 20-year lease on 95,000 sq ft of purpose-built office space at the asset, which was built in 2003. The building also boasts a 120-bed/54,000 sq ft Ibis hotel, operated by Accor Group on behalf of M&B, and 325 underground car parking spaces.

The deal is one of the largest office-lead investment deals in Birmingham in the last 12 months. It is also the first acquisition for Sterling’s new asset management and investment arm. The firm brought Adam Crickmore and Neil Ridley on to its board last year to develop this.

James Howarth, Sterling’s managing director, said: “We are looking to build a portfolio of properties and have raised capital to support this strategy.  Being sector agnostic in our approach and seeking to complement our development expertise, we believe there is real market opportunity to grow a mixed portfolio of assets and use our skills to add significant value in the short to medium term.”

BSB Real Estate advised Sterling Property Ventures on the transaction; ACRE Capital Partners acted for LGIM.