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Research

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Birmingham Crane Survey 2025

Breaking new ground

Birmingham’s Crane Survey breaks new ground in 2024. For the first time in its 20+ year history, the Survey expands its boundaries to align with the definition of the city centre in the new Our Future City Plan in 2024. This means that this year, we set a new baseline for comparative data in the Birmingham Crane Survey. Although this does mean this year’s survey is not year-on-year comparable, as the city is striving to break boundaries, it is only fitting that we match this ambition.

The Birmingham Crane Survey charts development activity in the city across 2024 in the following key sectors: residential, student residential, office, hotel, retail, education and healthcare. It provides thematic analysis to accompany an overview of key statistics for the year in review.

Key findings

The Birmingham Crane Survey 2024 recorded the completion of 24 schemes in the survey area with 36 developments under construction. 11 new schemes started on site in 2024: the lowest number of new starts recorded by the Birmingham Crane Survey since the year 2020, indicating a slowing down in the construction sector.

Over half of the new starts are residential-led developments, as residential use continues to dominate the development sector in 2024. However, rising inflation as well as labour and construction costs, influenced by global economic factors, pose a challenge to development activity. The retail, healthcare, education and hotel sectors reflect a slowing of activity, with no schemes starting construction in 2024. Despite a challenging economic backdrop, office and student residential sectors are showing strong levels of floorspace under construction as compared to previous years.

3,180 new homes

completed - the highest amount in Birmingham Crane Survey history

11 new starts

the lowest recorded number since 2020, with 36 developments remaining under construction

Over 310,000

sq. ft. of office floorspace delivered and a further 814,574 sq. ft. under construction

2,242

student accommodation bedspaces under construction - the highest level recorded by the Birmingham Crane Survey

Residential & Student Residential

Residential

The Birmingham Crane Survey recorded an all-time record of residential completions in 2024, at 3,180 homes across 17 schemes. 60% of new homes completed were build to rent tenure.

7,743 homes are under construction as part of 22 schemes, slightly down from 8,848 in 2023 despite this year’s expanded survey area. These are located primarily within the City Heart and Central South areas.

Student Residential

The student residential sector continues a strong trajectory, with 2,242 bedspaces under construction across four schemes, up from 1,562 bedspaces the previous year and a record-high for the Birmingham Crane Survey. 208 bedspaces were completed within the City Heart.

Of the schemes under construction, two were new starts, both located within the Central South area and providing nearly 900 bedspaces.

Office, Education and Healthcare

Office

The office sector was active with 814,574 sq. ft. of floorspace under construction across eight schemes. Of these, five are refurbishments of existing structures, including each of the two new starts: the Typhoo Tea Factory and 35 Newhall Street.

310,424 sq. ft. of office floorspace was completed in 2024, down from 591,134 sq. ft. the previous year. This was across four schemes, all refurbishments and located in the City Heart, where office construction activity remains focused.

Education

One scheme in the educational sector was completed in 2024; University College Birmingham’s Engineering and Sustainable Construction Centre in the Central West area, providing 54,712 sq. ft. of floorspace. This follows a year of no educational floorspace delivery in 2023.

There were no new starts in the educational sector in 2024, although over 480,000 sq. ft. of educational floorspace has planning permission but has not yet started on site.

Healthcare

There were no new starts in the healthcare sector in 2024, although over 100,000 sq. ft. has obtained planning permission and has not yet started on site, for a new NHS medical facility in Edgbaston.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the only healthcare development under construction, due to deliver over 47,000 sq. ft. of additional floorspace in 2025.

Retail/Leisure and Hotel

Retail/Leisure

There were no new starts in the retail and leisure sectors, although roughly 100,000 sq. ft. of leisure floorspace is under construction in this sector as part of mixed-use schemes.

Over 11,000 sq. ft. of leisure floorspace was delivered in 2024, through Birmingham City Football Club’s food and beverage fan zone in the Central East area.

Hotel

For the second consecutive year, there were no new starts in the hotel sector. No hotel beds were completed in 2024, and for the first year since construction levels have been recorded by the Birmingham Crane Survey, there are no hotel beds currently under construction.

Planning permission has been obtained for over 1,300 hotel beds, construction of which has not yet started on site, predominantly in the City Heart and Central South areas.

Our thinking

Analysis 1

Backing Birmingham: Funding future construction

Global economic and political factors challenged the construction sector and impacted development activity in Birmingham in 2024. While levels of office, residential and student residential schemes under construction remain stable, fewer schemes started on site. What needs to be done to get Birmingham building in 2025 and beyond?

Analysis 2

Beating for Birmingham: The city’s pulse

The City Heart remains the hub for residential and office development in Birmingham, while the City North, home to the Birmingham Innovation Quarter, is expected to see increased levels of educational development in the coming years.

Analysis 3

Brand Birmingham

Emerging as a hub for sporting activity in the wake of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham must forge a strong brand to attract investment and stimulate development in the hotel, retail and leisure sectors moving forward.

Methodology

Why?

A report that measures the developments taking place across Birmingham city centre and their impact. Property types include residential, office, hotel, retail and leisure, student accommodation, education and research facilities, and healthcare.

Where?

Our Crane Survey research area covers Birmingham City Centre, as defined by Birmingham City Council’s Our Future City Framework.

What?

Developers building new schemes or undertaking significant refurbishments exceeding any of the following sizes:
office – 10,000 sq. ft.;
retail and leisure - 10,000 sq. ft.;
residential property – 25 new homes or student bedspaces;
education, healthcare and research – 10,000 sq. ft.;
hotel – 35 hotel beds.

When?

Data for the Crane Survey was recorded between 3 January 2024 and 3 January 2025.

How?

The local Deloitte Infrastructure and Real Estate team has monitored construction activity and planning permissions granted, supplemented by rigorous field research. This research has been verified by industry contacts and in-house research teams.

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Birmingham Crane Survey 2025