Law firm relocates to city centre offices
Law firm Freeths has announced a move to new offices in Sheffield city centre after a year of growth.
The firm has taken 6,000 sq ft at 3 St Paul’s Place, which was developed by CTP and U+I and built by Bowmer & Kirkland and is the final part of the pioneering £130m Heart of the City project. It is the first speculative office building in Sheffield to be developed since the recession.
Freeths, which is relocating from the nearby Fountain Precinct, where it has been based for five years, is taking the majority of the fifth floor at 3 St Paul’s Place on a 10-year-lease. The rent is £23.50 per sq ft.
The firm will be relocating its 31-strong team to the new offices.
John May, managing partner of the firm’s Sheffield and Manchester offices, said: “Since we moved into Fountain Precinct in 2012, we have more than doubled our staff numbers in Sheffield. We’ve simply outgrown the space.
“We chose 3 St Paul’s Place for our new offices, because it offers prime office space in the heart of Sheffield and the quality of the facilities is reflected in the high profile businesses who have already moved in. It is the perfect location for us and we are looking forward to moving in. The space we have taken also allows room for the team to grow.
“The Sheffield office of Freeths has experienced a growth of over 20% in staff hires over the past year, which has strengthened their offering and expertise in the South Yorkshire area. With 11 offices across the UK, Freeths has a presence in the majority of the main cities and has seen staff numbers increase from 683 in 2015 to a current total of 842.
“The firm has a client base ranging from local businesses and public sector organisations to national and international household names.”
David Topham, director of Manchester-based developers CTP, said: “Freeths’ decision to relocate to 3 St Paul’s Place is a pleasing endorsement of our development. It is also extremely encouraging that a company with Freeths’ standing as a top 60 UK law firm for quality, innovation and excellence has chosen our building as their base in Sheffield.
“They join global civil engineers Arup, architects BDP and leading Swedish bank Handelsbanken at 3 St Paul’s Place, three other companies with superb reputations. We are very proud of our occupiers.
“Our decision to develop a speculative Grade A office building in Sheffield in the midst of the recession has been vindicated and we are very proud of the quality of the office space we have created. There is now strong interest in the remainder of the building and we look forward to announcing more new tenants shortly.”
The construction of 3 St Paul’s Place went ahead following a landmark agreement between CTP and U+I, the specialist regeneration developer and investor, with Sheffield City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The 10-storey 3 St Paul’s Place comprises 78,000 sq ft of prime Grade A office space with each 8,000 sq ft floor offering office suites from 2,000 sq ft.
CTP and U+I are being supported by Sheffield City Council, regeneration agency Creative Sheffield; Sheffield City Region JESSICA Fund, which was set up to support infrastructure and real estate investment opportunities across the region, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The marketing agents for 3 St Paul’s Place are the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, together with the Leeds offices of BNP Paribas and Cushman & Wakefield.
