Ashley Hancox, CBRE’s head of regional offices, has been appointed chair of the Birmingham Office Market Forum (BOMF).
He takes the baton from GVA’s Charles Toogood in the forum’s tenth anniversary year.
Launched in 2007 – the same year as the iPhone – BOMF was formed to co-ordinate take-up and stock availability statistics for Birmingham’s office market. The organisation’s unique approach to market collaboration – whereby all the city’s office brokers pool their data – has spawned copycat forums in other regional centres, including Manchester, Bristol and Leeds.
Ashley is one of BOMF’s original founders. He said: “We began life at the height of market, little realising that a long and deep recession was just around the corner.
“For Birmingham, this decade has been transformative. The arrival of Grand Central, the Library of Birmingham and long overdue infrastructure investment has enhanced perceptions of the city.
“As a result, we have attracted new occupiers, developers and funds to our city, whose decisions are all informed by the trusted and highly regarded data provided by BOMF.”
During his year in office Ashley aims to oversee the launch of a digital office map of the city, to complement BOMF’s annual printed version.