New Porsche centre gets planning permission

STRATSTONE, part of the Nottingham-based leading car retailer Pendragon, is to take up a new £5m Porsche centre in north Wolverhampton.

Planning has recently been granted for the site, which is being developed by Birmingham-based Trebor Developments in conjunction with land owner Ask Developments, and will be operated by luxury automotive retailer Stratstone.

The centre will be located at the Gateway site, close to Junction 2 of the M54. The scheme was fast-tracked by the local authority, which Trebor said reflected the importance it had deemed the new showroom to have.

The 27,000 sq ft Porsche centre will encompass a showroom and storage/preparation areas whilst extending the Porsche network for Stratstone, which currently operates from four Porsche centres throughout the UK, based in Nottingham, Sutton Coldfield, Wilmslow and  Bolton,

Bob Tattrie, managing partner for Trebor Developments, said: “We are grateful to Wolverhampton Council for the speed and proficiency in which they dealt with this planning application, which has now allowed us to proceed with the contract, which will see work on site commence in spring 2014.

“This is a major pre-let transaction with capital investment of over £5m and we will deliver a very high quality branded Porsche Centre for our tenants, with an anticipated opening in the early part of 2015.”

David Kay, on behalf of Ask Developments, added: “Despite stiff competition from other areas, we are pleased that Wolverhampton was chosen. We are grateful for the support and proactive approach of the city council planning department who played an important part helping us to attract this prestigious client to the area.”

Developers Trebor and Ask were represented by Bulleys and Stratstone by its retained agent Innes England.

Matt Hannah of Innes England said: “Stratstone highlighted that with new models launching for Porsche, a new larger showroom and workshop facility would be required reflecting the up to date brand standards for the customers it serves.

“After an extensive search, we persuaded the landowners to look at a prestigious car showroom site rather than the office scheme the site had planning for. Situated on Junction 2 of the M54, the site is highly accessible and has significant prominence.”

The transaction has been implemented on a 15-year leasehold basis, with the investment being retained by Ask Developments.