Bruntwood shows commitment to Leeds with acquisition
Bruntwood, one of the UK’s leading commercial property companies, has completed a multi-million-pound deal to purchase Castle House in Leeds from from Bridges Fund Management, a move that will see the firm increase the size of its Yorkshire portfolio by a third.
The acquisition marks Bruntwood’s sixth in the city and demonstrates the company’s commitment to driving growth in Leeds and follows the success of Platform, which launched in 2017.
Bruntwood Works, the workspace, retail and leisure arm of Bruntwood group, will now design, develop and deliver the transformation of Castle House and the surrounding cluster of buildings.
Castle House spans almost 90,000 sq ft across 14 storeys and is situated on Lisbon Street in the heart of the West End district of the city, adjacent to Bruntwood Works’ West One building – one of the largest workspaces in Leeds city centre.
The acquisition marks the next stage of the company’s expansion as it aims to double its regional footprint over the next few years.
Bruntwood Works will kickstart plans to bring together Castle House, West One and 100 Wellington Street as part of its £50m Pioneer programme – the scheme that creates forward-thinking workspaces centred on six key pillars: biophilia, art, sustainability, wellness, amenity and technology. It also highlights the commitment to creating clusters of innovative, like-minded businesses within its regions, helping customers to build strong networks across neighbouring buildings to fuel growth, and follows TTEC’s move to West Gate in 2020 – which marked one of the biggest property deals of the year.
The transformational project, will be the developer’s first Pioneer project in Leeds, connecting the buildings through one central courtyard, and blend high-quality workspace with an independent retail and hospitality offering – transforming the cluster of buildings into a thriving, collaborative environment to support the changing needs and desires of businesses post-pandemic.
Rob Valentine, director Bruntwood
Ciara Keeling, CEO of Bruntwood Works, added: “Bruntwood Works has a strong track record of transforming old buildings to develop inspirational, collaborative and sustainable workspaces that provide incredible environments for our customers to thrive in. We want to create workspaces of the future – those that support flexible and agile ways of working, and foster a sense of community, but also have outstanding wellness and amenity facilities at their heart.
“The Bruntwood ambition is clear. We want to invest further in Yorkshire, through both Bruntwood Works and Bruntwood SciTech – the joint venture with L&G – and the acquisition of Castle House is the next step on that journey. It marks an exciting milestone in the growth and development of our Leeds portfolio, and its location next to West One and 100 Wellington Street also makes it the missing piece of the jigsaw as it will enable us to unlock the full potential of the estate and courtyard within the wider area.”
Work is set to begin later this summer, subject to planning.
Alex Whiting, senior director in the CBRE Leeds Capital Markets Team, advised Bridges on the sale.
