PwC to become anchor tenant of Leeds landmark development
PWC has committed to Leeds until 2031 after signing a 15-year lease to be the anchor tenant of the £100m Central Square city centre development.
The professional services giant is moving its 700 staff from its 72,000 sq ft building, Benson House, into 55,000 sq ft over two floors at the Central Square development a few hundred yards along Wellington Street.
Arif Ahmad, PwC’s senior office partner in Leeds, said: “The new office will give us 15% more useable space, enabling us to continue to recruit and attract the top talent so we can best serve our clients, to help them achieve their objectives, grow and support the local economy.”
The 11-storey development has been on site for a year and its developers Marrico Asset Management say the build is ahead of schedule, with it due to be finished in summer 2016. It will enable PwC to move in just ahead of its break clause date at Benson House of October 2016.
PwC, which can trace its presence in Leeds back 90 years, has been located at its current home for the last 20 years and becomes the latest professional services firm in the city to confirm its once-in-a-generation relocation.
KPMG will move across the road from its current site in late autumn into a 61,250 sq ft development at 1 Sovereign Square on a 15-year lease. Squire Patton Boggs has also signed up for 15 years for its 32,382 sq ft at 6 Wellington Place, which it will move into in the first quarter of 2016, while Addleshaw Goddard is taking 51,000 sq ft at 3 Sovereign Square on a 17-year lease and plans to move in towards the end of next year.
PwC is the first business to commit to the Central Square development that is situated between Whitehall Road and Wellington Street on the former Royal Mail site. The 220,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme is mostly 25,000 sq ft footplates of flexible grade A office space, with some retail and leisure provision.
It is being led by investor M&G Real Estates and Roydhouse Properties, the property investment vehicle of Clipper Logistics founder Steve Parkin and Bon Marche co-founder Gurnaik Chima.
Mr Parkin said: “For many years, Leeds saw very little significant city centre development and we are pleased that Central Square will create a truly iconic landmark in the city. It was particularly important to us that we created a building that would enhance the commercial infrastructure of Leeds.”
Walker Morris and Richard Dunn of Sanderson Weatherall advised PwC, while Hogan Lovells solicitors acted for M&G and Jim Speed, real estate partner at DWF, acted for Marrico.
