Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”), announces that it has secured Grant Thornton UK LLP, a leading business and financial adviser, as its latest tenant at Colmore Plaza, Carlyle’s prime office development in Birmingham city centre.

Grant Thornton will take 26,500 sq ft. in total and relocate from its current Edmund Street office, taking a 15-year lease on the entire 22,264 sq ft of Colmore Plaza’s twelfth floor, together with approximately 4,000 sq ft of space on the eleventh. Grant Thornton will consolidate the bulk of its operations on one floor, making use of Colmore Plaza’s large, column free floor spaces, enabling efficient use of space and an improved working environment.

Colmore Plaza is one of the highest specification office buildings outside London and one of the only buildings in Birmingham to hold a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for its highly efficient design. Grant Thornton will join other tenants at Colmore Plaza, which include Amey, Williams de Broe, Davis Langdon, Orega and Aedas.

Mark Harris, Director at the Carlyle Group, said: “As our latest tenant, Grant Thornton will complement an existing strong line up of professional services businesses and we are pleased to welcome them to Colmore Plaza. We believe that the building is ideally placed to benefit from the ongoing demand from potential occupiers for quality Grade A space in the region, particularly given the quality of the office space that is on offer and the high level of service that is provided to our occupiers”

David Munton, Managing Partner at Grant Thornton, said: “Colmore Plaza is a perfect example of a truly Grade A office building in a prime location within the city’s business heart. Attracting and retaining quality people is a key element of Grant Thornton’s successful business model and providing a first-rate working environment is an important factor in achieving that aim.  We have selected the best space in the one of the best buildings in Birmingham that creates a perfect platform for our continued growth.

For more information, please visit www.colmoreplaza.com.

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For more information, please contact Dan Hill at Core on 0121 643 8151.

About Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners

Carlyle Europe Real Estate is the European real estate operation of The Carlyle Group and has been advising on investments throughout Europe since 2001. Carlyle Europe Real Estate aims to add significant value to the properties through active asset management. Carlyle Europe Real Estate has six advisory entities based in Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Stockholm, which, advise on the investments of three European funds based in Luxembourg – Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners I – III, which total €3.4 billion of assets under management. The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, closed its first real estate fund in the United States in 1997 and, since then, has sponsored a further ten real estate funds in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Total real estate assets under management amount to $11 billion. www.carlyle.com

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $86.1 billion of assets under management committed to 64 funds as of June 30, 2009. Carlyle invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defence, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. Since 1987, the firm has invested $56.3 billion of equity in 920 transactions for a total purchase price of approximately $229.1 billion. The Carlyle Group employs more than 875 people in 20 countries. In the aggregate, Carlyle portfolio companies have more than $109 billion in revenue and employ more than 415,000 people around the world. www.carlyle.com.