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The prospect of a major employment boost in Birmingham has been raised after a mystery firm began a search for masses of office space.

JLL in Birmingham has been appointed to head up a search for 350,000 sq ft of offices, which would represent one of the largest single transactions the city has seen.

It would mean thousands of jobs with the space – the size of four-and-a-half football pitches – representing more than three times that taken by HS2 and almost 50 per cent of the total let in the city last year.

Industry website CoStar reports speculation that HSBC is the mystery buyer. The banking giant is thought to have consolidation plans and had been expected to open huge offices at Arena Central before the recession.

However, senior sources, including at JLL, were remaining tight-lipped on the proposals, which would represent a huge employment boost.

A banking services provider following in the footsteps of Deutsche Bank is thought to be the most likely candidate.

The Birmingham office market has been catapulted into national consciousness by the German-owned bank which signed up to 200,000 sq ft at Brindleyplace in 2013 and now employs more than 2,000 people in the city including on a trading floor.

CoStar News reports that JLL is seeking to fill the requirement to be in two parts – which is unsurprising, as the city currently does not have suitable Grade A space to meet this demand.

It reports JLL is seeking 175,000 sq ft by the end of this year and an additional 175,000 sq ft by the end of 2016.

However, agents have told the Post this also seems far-fetched given a paucity of space.

One potential location would be Baskerville House, which will have about 130,000 sq ft of space available after this summer following a major refurbishment.

That aside, there is about 70,000 sq ft of Grade A space at Carlyle’s Colmore Plaza and 50,000 sq ft at Nurtons’ Two Colmore Square.

The size of the office space demanded is highlighted by comparison to last year’s lettings in the city.

Total annual lettings reached 713,460 sq ft in Birmingham last year, which was the highest total since 2008.

That came after HS2’s move to Two Snowhill, set to create 1,500 jobs in the city in the next two years, saw the high-speed rail firm take 97,958 sq ft of space.

The potential for massive investment in city offices comes shortly after it was identified Birmingham named UK’s most investable city, above London and Manchester, by PwC’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey.

Since then, CBRE’s global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey said Birmingham was the best value city in Britain to do business.

It showed Birmingham was the 39th most expensive city in the world to rent offices, with an average Grade A cost at £45.63 per sq ft.

Ashley Hancox, a senior director in CBRE’s national offices team, said cost would continue to rise, but the city offered the best value in the country.

He said: “Our research shows that the gap between prime peak rents prior to the recession and now is wider in Birmingham than any other UK city, making us the best value for money at present.

“However, this situation won’t prevail for too long. The lack of available Grade A offer has already had an impact on incentives, with rent free periods in particular visibly compressing.”