Insurance firm relocates to 5 Wellington Place

Insurance brokers Willis Towers Watson are moving 240 staff into the newly developed 5 Wellington Place after tripling staff numbers.

The firm was the first tenant in 1 and 2 Wellington Place, having signed up 17 years ago. Since then it has tripled its workforce from 80 to 240 staff.

The deal for 5 Wellington Place is one of the biggest in the Leeds office market this year, after sign ups from the likes of Burberry at 6 Queen Street.

The company is taking on 26,500 sq ft of office space at the development.

The 75,257 sq ft 5 Wellington Place was completed last year, and work has begun to fit out the office ahead of Willis Towers Watson’s move in early July.

Slavica Sedlan, managing consultant at Willis Towers Watson, said: “It was a very easy decision to make to stay at Wellington Place when we found we needed the additional office space.

“It was the best solution to meet our expansion needs, with the added bonus of staying with a highly attentive landlord and offering us the opportunity to create a forward thinking office space allowing for further growth.

“MEPC has shaped a fantastic environment within the Wellington Place development, creating an amazing sense of community and offering essential green space whilst being situated in an ideal location just on the edge of the town centre.”

James Dipple, CEO of MEPC also commented: “I’m delighted that Willis Towers Watson has chosen to remain at Wellington Place and move across the site to accommodate their growth.

“Wellington Place is home to a number of occupiers who have been with us for a very long time; this is testament to our commitment to providing superb quality office and retail space, as well as our ability to provide a dedicated and responsive customer service.

“Willis Towers Watson is a company with a great office culture and geared around delivering excellent customer service. It’s always pleasing to have a happy occupier take up more space within Wellington Place, which illustrates how well cultures are aligned.”

Two floors remain to be let at 5 Wellington Place, part of the 290,000 sq ft development.

MEPC last year announced a masterplan for the site which would see it “unlock” 350,000 sq ft of land in the surrounding areas which are primarily used for car parking.

3 Wellington Place is the next phase which is due to complete in December this year.

Pictured: Alex Major, Pamela Taylor-Sutton, Matt Johnson, Slavica Sedlan, Stephen Pester, Gail Wilkinson and Chris Gore