Investors optimistic about ambitious plans to regenerate more iconic buildings

A pair of property investors who have brought their distinctive programme of regeneration to central Leeds outlined their ideas and objectives at a lunch organised by TheBusinessDesk.com

The event at Bibis Italianissimo, in Leeds, was sponsored by online property bidding company MyBid4IT, and addressed by George Haddo and Samuel Lawson Johnson who established their investment company, Kinrise, in 2015.

Their firm has recently completed a £6.5m transformation of 34 Boar Lane, Leeds, turning the 57,000 sq ft building into a creative office, leisure and retail space.

Both directors of the business highlighted their determination to bring their recipe for success to more properties in Leeds, as well as other key regional UK cities. They explained how they work to ensure their renovation schemes promote cultural activities and environmental sustainability.

Johnson said Leeds stood out as a location worth investing time and money in, not only because of its size and economic value but because of its entrepreneurial culture and openness to new ideas.

Haddo said Kinrise aims to focus on historic buildings in city centres, noting that such properties don’t always become available on the market. “It took us a long time to find somewhere to work on in Leeds,” he added.

“Sometimes other people are willing to pay more than us. Also, we need to find something in the right location and to have control of the ground floor in order to activate the building. So it’s a combination of locating a property with the right characteristics at the right price.”

Johnson said: “We love historic, iconic buildings and at Boar Lane – which used to be known as CGU House – we rebuilt the top three floors and ‘took the lid off’ to get much more light into the building.

“We want to have a really active ground floor, with cafes, restaurants, bars and co-working spaces. We’re looking to soon announce a bar tenant and a restaurant tenant. We’d like to attract occupants from any sector. But we particularly like the idea of having tenants who are up for collaborating and being part of a community in that building.”

He said he was optimistic that the business would weather Brexit-related uncertainty, pointing out there was still a huge pent-up demand for high quality, creative office space.

Haddo added: “There’s not been very much supply since the recession in 2008 and a lot less development than usual. If a building is a good quality product then there’ll be a long list of people willing to take that space.”

34 Boar Lane, Leeds

He said the UK was moving in the direction of countries like Germany, with a “polycentric” economy which does not simply concentrate on the capital city.

“The way to invest properly in a city is to get to know that city really well and to build a network of friends there,” he said. “It’s not about adopting a colonial style approach because cities will reject that.”

Johnson said: “We’d really love to find a new building to buy in Leeds – somewhere with character and which is in the city centre. That’s not easy to do. There are so many incredible buildings here in Leeds, but we just need to find the right one.

“We’re always on the lookout for interesting buildings which need bringing back to life.

“I strongly believe that in the next year to 18 months we will buy a minimum of another five buildings – not just in this city.”

He explained Kinrise looks to reveal and preserve the authentic, original design features of properties it takes over and never installs fake architectural features in its buildings.

And Haddo said: “We always try to maintain the integrity of the building, and I don’t think many people would come into one of our buildings and feel alienated by it. It’s not just about the physical look of the property, the tenant experience is very important for us.”