Major office development has contributed £200m to regional GVA

Wellington Place is now one of the most successful City Centre regeneration projects in the UK and has contributed a total economic value (GVA) of £200m, according to a newly published study.

Transformed from a retail park to a multi-million-pound commercial property development, Wellington Place in Leeds houses firms including Sky Betting and Gaming, Shulmans, Mazars, Squire Patton Boggs and many more.

There are currently over 4,800 employees working at Wellington Place, which is expected to rise to over 11,000 when the new regional Government Hub opens, welcoming HMRC and NHS Digital staff from across the region. This building broke the record for the largest ever pre-let in Leeds at 378,000 sq ft, and the addition of 6,000 civil servants to the development.

The report on the social and economic impact of Wellington Place on the region highlights the pivotal role the development has played in the success of Leeds, creating over 300 construction jobs, facilitating 100 apprenticeship placements and – to date – accounting for over £180m in contractor and subcontractor spend in the city.

The site now offers 800,000 sq ft of office and leisure space, which includes bars, restaurants, shops and gyms, in addition to public space.

MEPC’s vision for Wellington Place was to create a development which celebrates the historic lifting tower on site while providing new high-quality public space to link the City Centre with the West End. It has onsite amenities and is a hub of workplace wellbeing activity – the latter supported by a £1.7m investment on its occupier events and benefits programme.

To date, 94% of the total development completed has been let, while 72% of the total floorspace currently under construction (buildings 4, 7 and 8 Wellington Place) already pre-let.

James Dipple, Chief Executive of MEPC, said: “Right from the offset, we were committed to creating something incredibly special in the City Centre of Leeds – a people first development that was designed in such a way that it actively encouraged its own culture and community. We’ve been true to our word as the development has expanded, retaining outdoor spaces, being sustainably minded and looking after our customers. We’re now halfway through our masterplan and the results of our hard work and commitment to our beliefs has delivered something we can all be extremely proud of.

“The social and economic impact report launched today helps to quantify everything we have achieved to date and it’s an honour to share this with the people that have helped us to get to where we are today.  We’re looking forward to even more success in the future as Wellington Place continues to grow and support Leeds’ ambition of being the most prominent city in the north.”

Karen Tyrell, MD of People & Culture at Sky Betting & Gaming, added: “We were one of the first occupiers here at Wellington Place and it’s been fantastic to grow our business with the development. What attracted us to Wellington Place, and what has kept us here for almost a decade is its aligned beliefs to our own – an inclusive, people first approach that puts the wellbeing of its team at the heart of the business. This is what has helped us become one of the biggest and most respected digital employers in Leeds and supports our ambitious growth plans. We arrived in Wellington Place in 2009 with 90 colleagues and now have 1200 people working here in Leeds. We have over 100 live vacancies to fill at present and welcome our colleagues at The Stars Group who have already taken a space in our offices at Wellington Place.”

Work continues across the site. Number 7 & 8 Wellington Place is due to for completion at the end 2019. Number 4 Wellington Place is also under construction and will offer 156,000 sq. ft of Grade A office, retail and leisure space when it opens in 2020. Thereafter, the next phase of the masterplan will be revealed in the coming months with plans for the next stage of the build schedule announced.

Key facts from the report:

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