Shepherd Commercial has completed a two-year letting campaign at Bowyer Street, Digbeth, taking the landmark creative workspace to 100% occupancy despite the adjacent construction of a 32-storey residential tower.

Shepherd Commercial, the Midlands commercial property consultancy, today confirms that Bowyer Street in Digbeth has reached 100% occupancy following a sustained two-year letting programme led by Managing Director Kaine Arkinson.

The milestone was secured at the end of March 2026 with the letting of the top-floor 2,600 sq ft Unit B4 to Anam Captures, an independent photography studio — the final piece of a campaign that has seen every unit across the Bowyer Street estate taken by creative-sector occupiers.

Shepherd Commercial has acted for the landlord at Bowyer Street for more than fifteen years and has a long-standing policy of letting the building’s studios exclusively to creative businesses. The approach has produced a tenant roster that now reads as a microcosm of Digbeth’s creative economy.

The Lettings Campaign

Over the last twenty-four months, Kaine Arkinson has completed a succession of lettings across the building, each tailored to a specific creative occupier.

Unit C3, a 3,100 sq ft studio, was let in autumn 2025 to Seventh Circle Art Gallery, the independent gallery and artist-support platform. Unit C2R, at 1,154 sq ft, was let to Molly Makes Cakes, the celebrated bespoke bakery whose founder has appeared on Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers. Earlier lettings in the campaign brought in Moseley Vintage Hub and designer-maker Charlotte Clark Design Maker, both adding to the building’s identity as an incubator for small, owner-led creative ventures.

The new arrivals sit alongside an established tenant line-up that includes Urban Scooters, The Birch Boys Bespoke Design Studio and Dirty Hert Design Printing — each of whom has chosen to remain at Bowyer Street through a period of significant change on and around the site.

Creative Demand Throughout a Construction Cycle

The Bowyer Street programme has been delivered against the backdrop of one of the largest regeneration works in Digbeth’s recent history. Caddick Construction is currently delivering a £43 million, 32-storey residential tower on the plot directly adjacent to the building — a project that has brought the usual inconveniences associated with major inner-city construction, from hoardings and diverted access to heavy plant movements.

That Shepherd Commercial has been able to deliver full occupancy during this period is, Arkinson says, a direct read-out on occupier confidence in the area.

“Every occupier in this building has chosen Bowyer Street with a clear view of what’s happening next door, and in many cases because of it. The regeneration of Digbeth is happening in real time, and the people driving the quarter’s cultural identity — designers, makers, artists, photographers — are voting with their feet. Reaching 100% occupancy in this market, against that backdrop, is a genuine statement of confidence in the area.” Said Managing Director Kaine Arkinson

Arkinson personally negotiated each of the recent lettings. “We’ve held a very consistent line for the landlord over fifteen years: the spaces at Bowyer Street are for creative businesses only. It’s not the easiest policy commercially — you’re passing on tenants who would fill the floors quicker — but it has built a community. Creative occupiers want to sit next to other creatives. The result is a building that lets itself, word-of-mouth, because the tenants are proud of who they’re next door to.”

Digbeth in context

The Bowyer Street milestone comes at a pivotal moment for the Digbeth quarter. Birmingham City Council, private investors and major developers continue to advance the city’s eastside regeneration, with the BBC’s relocation to Typhoo Wharf, the Smithfield masterplan and a succession of residential, hospitality and creative industry schemes already in delivery or pipeline. Demand for genuine, unreconstructed creative workspace — studios, workshops, small showrooms — has tightened measurably, and landlords willing to curate for creative occupiers are seeing the benefit in occupancy and rental resilience.

Arkinson personally negotiated each of the recent lettings. “We’ve held a very consistent line for the landlord over fifteen years: the spaces at Bowyer Street are for creative businesses only. It’s not the easiest policy commercially — you’re passing on tenants who would fill the floors quicker — but it has built a community. Creative occupiers want to sit next to other creatives. The result is a building that lets itself, word-of-mouth, because the tenants are proud of who they’re next door to.”

Shepherd Commercial is an independent commercial property consultancy headquartered in Solihull, with offices at Brindleyplace in Birmingham. The firm provides agency, asset management and professional services across the Midlands, covering retail, office and industrial sectors. Founded more than 25 years ago, the firm manages in excess of 400 properties and over 3 million sq ft of commercial space on behalf of private, institutional and charitable clients.

About Shepherd