FAMILY building firm GI Sykes is redeveloping a town centre property in Stourbridge after a £215,000 sale deal was sealed.

The shop and premises at 165 Lower High Street were sold as part of a string of properties in a deal handled by Ben Truslove, joint managing director of property agency John Truslove.

Jason Sykes, a third-generation director at GI Sykes, said: “We already owned 164 Lower High Street and are redeveloping it into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) with commercial premises on the ground floor.

“When we found out the next-door property was coming up for sale it just made sense to acquire it.

“It also allows us to make more use of the car parking area to the rear of both properties.

“The help Ben Truslove and the team gave us was excellent. They helped the whole process go as smoothly as possible.”

He said a tea and cake business has agreed to lease the ground floor retail premises, which was formerly home to the Umberto Giannini hair salon, and the derelict upstairs will be developed into a two-bedroom flat and a single bedroom flat for rent.

GI Sykes was established in Stourbridge almost a century ago by Mr Sykes’ grandfather and has grown to employ a team of around 60, plus local subcontractors. As well as specialising in commercial building, roofing, decoration and maintenance work over the last 25 years, the company has built up its own portfolio of commercial and residential properties.

Property agent Ben Truslove was ranked second most successful dealmaker in the UK in the 2021 EG Radius On-Demand Rankings after negotiating 89 sales and lettings during the year.

He said of this latest deal: “We are pleased to have successfully concluded the sale for our client. It is good to see such a prominent town centre building being brought back into full use.”