Urban Splash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Urban Splash, set up in 1993, is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses and mills, and other buildings, into modern apartments and penthouses as well as construct new build developments. They are mainly based in the northwest cities of the United Kingdom such as Manchester, Bradford and Liverpool, but have expanded into the Midlands and the South, in such places as Birmingham, Bristol (Lake Shore) and Plymouth (Royal William Yard).

Urban Splash was founded by Tom Bloxham, a graduate of the University of Manchester, whose initial business experience was selling pop posters in Affleck's Palace in Manchester. To expand his pop poster business Bloxham branched out a as landlord opening the N4 Arcade adjacent to the Palace. He then expanded in to Liverpool opening a shopping arcade called the Liverpool Palace. He then expanded in to licensed premises with the founding of the Baa Bar in Liverpool with architect and Urban Splash co-founder, Jonathan Falkingham.

Urban Splash are renowned for taking on difficult sites and projects that other developers will not touch, such as the Budenburg Haus Projekte in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, Park Hill, Sheffield, New Islington and Moho in Manchester and Lister's Mill in Bradford. They also place a big emphasis on design, employing well respected architects such as Foster and Partners, ShedKM and Glenn Howells.

The Rotunda in Birmingham during refurbishment.

Urban Splash are currently developing two landmarks in Birmingham: The Rotunda and Fort Dunlop. Urban Splash have also been chosen to redevelop the Waterfront in Walsall. In 2006, Urban Splash bought the derelict Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. The company has been chosen as the developer for the East Wharf development project in Watchet, Somerset and has submitted plans to the local planning authority (as of May 2007).^[1] Their redevelopment of Morecambe's famous art deco Midland Hotel is due to be completed in May 2008. Urban Splash along with Hammerson are the chosen developers to redevelop a large area of Swansea city centre.

Tom Bloxham has recently appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List. In the 2005 list, it was stated that Bloxham had a personal fortune of around £50 million. He now resides in Worsley, Greater Manchester.