ST MODWEN TO BUILD NEW HEAD OFFICE AT ETRURIA VALLEY FOR HANLEY BUILDING SOCIETY

Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration Ltd, the joint venture between St Modwen Properties and Stoke City Council, is to build new head offices at Festival Court, Etruria Valley, for Hanley Economic Building Society, replacing the society’s 16 year old head office which St Modwen also built on the adjacent Festival Park development.

This is a significant deal as it marks a major commitment by the Hanley Building Society in the face of the current difficult conditions in the global financial market, and an encouraging sign that the regeneration programme in Stoke is continuing despite the challenging economic climate.

The 7,850 sq ft self-contained two-storey offices, which will cost circa £1.8 million, will be the first development in the fourth phase of the highly successful Festival Park where over 220 acres have already been developed. Hanley Economic has acquired a 150-year ground lease and simultaneously entered into a development agreement with Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration.

The building society will move 40 staff into their new head office building as part of the Festival Court scheme, which will be four buildings arranged in a courtyard setting. The planning consent includes the other three two-storey office blocks which are designed as 11 self-contained buildings, each of 1,800 sq ft. A total of 128 car parking spaces will be provided.

Mike Herbert, St Modwen’s North Staffordshire regional director , said: “The deal demonstrates the strength and resilience of Hanley Economic Building Society and highlights our continued commitment to regeneration in Stoke.

“Nearly 600,000 sq ft of business floor space including almost 350,000 sq ft of offices has been constructed on Festival Park, formerly the site of the 1986 National Garden Festival. There are now more than 100 companies occupying the whole of Festival Park, providing employment for around 5,000 people.

“It is also on a site being developed through a joint venture with Corus UK and shows the benefit to landowners of long-term partnership with St Modwen as the first joint venture at Etruria Valley was entered into with Corus in 1996.”

David Webster, chief executive of Hanley Economic Building Society said: “This is a landmark deal for The Hanley emphasising our financial resilience and our optimism for the future. We intend to modernise the working environment for our staff and to make our customer facilities even more welcoming and contemporary.”

Louis Taylor acted for St Modwen.

Notes to Editors:

St Modwen began the Festival Park development in 1988 after it took over the 160-acre famous former Shelton Iron and Steelworks site following the Garden Festival in 1986.

The fourth phase of development now being undertaken is the last section of the redevelopment of what was termed the largest derelict site in the West Midlands when steel making ceased in 1979. The last vestiges of the steel industry in Stoke ended in 2002 with the closure of the rolling mill.

St. Modwen Properties plc

St. Modwen is the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, operating across the full spectrum of the property industry through a network of seven regional offices and a Birmingham based head office. The company is wholly focussed upon regeneration with expertise in town centre regeneration, partnering industry, brownfield land renewal and heritage restoration.

For further information, please contact:

Charlotte McCarthy

PR Manager

St. Modwen Properties plc

Tel: 07970 949 914

Email: cmccarthy@stmodwen.co.uk

Paul Raymer

Howle Chapman Raymer

Tel: 0121 313 1000

Mike Herbert

Regional Director (North Staffordshire)

St. Modwen Properties plc (Stoke)

01782 281844