Firm secures final letting at Paradise building

The firm is taking the remaining 12,147 sq ft of space on the third floor of the commercial building.

The second building to complete at Paradise, Two Chamberlain Square, already features a range of occupiers including DLA Piper, Atkins Realis, Mazars, Cazenove Capital, Cubo and Knights.

With eight floors of office space, the 183,000 sq ft building has quickly become a major professional services hub for the city.

Designed by Birmingham-based architects Howells, Two Chamberlan Square is one of the most recognisable parts of the ever-growing Paradise estate, creating a landmark building overlooking Chamberlain Square.

Dains, originally founded in 1926, is one of the fastest growing firms of accountants in the UK and has trebled in size over the past two years and now employs more than 650 people across the group. It has its head office in Lichfield and also has an office in Stoke-on-Trent.

Richard McNeilly, chief executive of Dains, said: “This is a significant move for Dains because it underlines our commitment to our people and provides them with the very best work environment in terms of location, connectivity, and sustainability. It also demonstrates our investment in Birmingham and the work we carry out here.

“What I love about the people at Dains is that they care, not only for their clients, but for the community and each other. As a business we understand that our employees are our biggest asset and we strive to provide the best working environment from flexible working hours to a fantastic benefits scheme, as well as ongoing and meaningful professional development. We listen to our people and evolve with them to keep Dains a great place to work.”

Paradise is currently pressing on with Phase Two of the development, as well as planning for the third and final phase of the overall masterplan, on the northern part of the site.

Ross Fittall, commercial director at Paradise developer and asset manager for MEPC, said: “Two Chamberlain Square has been a hugely successful part of Paradise and has attracted a superb mix of professional services tenants. The addition of Dains, one of the city’s fastest growing independent accountancy firms, underlines the appeal of Paradise and the local, national and global expertise present across the estate.

“With Three Chamberlain Square, our next commercial building, already under construction, as well as our world-first Octagon residential skyscraper and the recent completion and launch of One Centenary Way, Paradise has enjoyed a year of hugely positive activity, cementing its position as the leading commercial destination in the city.”

Three Chamberlain Square is a new workspace facing Paradise Street and Ratcliff Passage, adjacent to the Grade I listed Town Hall, and currently under construction.

Planning approval is also in place for a new 17 storey, 152-bedroom hotel on the corner of Paradise Street, as well as a new public square and a number of new pedestrianised streets.

At almost 2 million square feet, Paradise is delivering up to 10 buildings, offering offices, shops, bars, cafés, restaurants, a high-quality hotel as well as Octagon, the world-first 49 storey pure octagonal residential tower, across 17 acres in the heart of the city.

The Paradise redevelopment is being brought forward through Paradise Circus Limited Partnership, a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The private sector funding is being managed by the international business of Federated Hermes, which has partnered with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on the first phase of the development and for One Centenary Way. MEPC is the development and asset manager.