Holcim UK has secured a competitive tender to supply sustainable readymix concrete for the Smithfield Lofts residential development in Digbeth, Birmingham’s Creative Quarter, as part of the wider £1.9 billion Smithfield regeneration scheme.

The Smithfield Lofts project, delivered by principal contractor Prosperity Wealth, forms part of a major redevelopment of the former Birmingham Wholesale Market site, which is being transformed under a masterplan led by Lendlease in a joint venture with Birmingham City Council.

The development will deliver loft-style residential apartments alongside indoor and outdoor amenity spaces and shared communal facilities designed to support modern urban living in the city centre.

In November 2025, Holcim UK completed a 160-cubic-metre concrete pour on site, used in the construction of foundations for a crane platform and structural columns extending up to the first floor of the building.

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The contract was awarded after Velcol Groundworks and structural engineers O’Connor Sutton Cronin (OCSC) reviewed the original concrete specification and identified opportunities to improve the sustainability of the mix design.

In response, Holcim UK supplied its ECOPact low-carbon concrete range, including a watertight mix designed to prevent water ingress. The company said that, compared with the original CEM I baseline specification, its ECOPact solutions reduced carbon emissions by 429,093 kgCO2e (429 tonnes CO2e) across the project.

Leon Pennant, sales manager at Holcim UK Birmingham & Wolverhampton for readymix concrete, led the project and said: "We won the Smithfield contract based on our proposal to deliver a reliable product of the highest quality, alongside service assurance and sustainability compliance.

"Our ability to adapt to engineer feedback and sustainability demands was no doubt the deciding factor in winning the contract and is testament to our determination to place sustainability at the heart of concrete production."

Construction work on the foundations and structural columns is expected to continue through June and July 2026, with completion of the Smithfield Lofts development scheduled for December 2027.