PIC and Court Collaboration celebrate with One Eastside topping out ceremony

Pension Insurance Corporation (“PIC”), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, and Court Collaboration, a Birmingham specialist residential property developer, celebrated the Topping Out of the One Eastside development, which at 51 storeys is becoming the tallest building in Birmingham.

PIC forward funded the £200 million One Eastside development and will own it for the long term. Court Collaboration is delivering the development.

Once complete, PIC will use the rental income generated from the development to help pay the pensions of its policyholders. Almost 15,000 of these policyholders currently live in the West Midlands, and PIC has paid more than £1 billion in pensions in the region since 2012. PIC has also invested more than £900 million in the West Midlands to date, including in social housing, electrified rail, and the University of Birmingham.

A number of PIC Policyholders were present at the celebration event.

After breaking ground in March 2023, One Eastside is set to complete in 2026 and will feature 667 high-quality new homes for rent, with state-of-the-art co-working spaces and a range of amenities for residents, including a cinema room, sky lounge, and gym.

Guests at the Topping Out ceremony were given a tour of the show apartments before heading up to the 150m-high sky terrace to take in the new views of the city and the quality of the amenities soon to be on offer.

A celebratory lunch was also held at Birmingham Conservatoire.

Rob Groves, Chief Investment Officer at PIC, said: “We are proud to have reached another milestone in our One Eastside development, with 140 of the total of 667 high-quality homes made available for rent in the heart of Birmingham. One Eastside will be the tallest building in the city and help pay the pensions of our policyholders for decades to come.”

Alex Neale, Chief Executive Officer at Court Collaboration, added: “What a journey it’s been to reach this milestone for One Eastside. I couldn’t be prouder of the team or more grateful to our partners such as PIC, our main contractor Midgard, who have done – and are still doing – such an amazing job, and of course, Birmingham City Council. Only by genuinely working together with passion can we deliver these types of developments, and I’d like to thank everybody that joined us today to celebrate.”

Councillor Sharon Thompson, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, also addressed guests at the event, highlighting the city’s ambitious regeneration agenda. She said, “Partnerships with forward-thinking local businesses like Court Collaboration are absolutely vital to our city’s continued growth and transformation. I want to thank Alex and his team, along with Pension Insurance Corporation, for sharing our vision for a more inclusive, dynamic, and economically resilient city. The topping out of this landmark development is not just a construction milestone, it’s a symbol of the momentum we’re building across Birmingham. From creating new homes and jobs to revitalising our urban spaces, this project reflects the kind of sustainable regeneration that will power our city’s future.”

Also present at the Topping Out were members of the project team, including lead contractor Midgard, and representatives from Birmingham City University (BCU), including Hanifa Shah, Pro Vice-Chancellor STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.