Insurance services business marks next chapter with office opening
Markel, the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc, has officially opened its new Leeds office at City Square house.
The firm has more than doubled its office size in Leeds and celebrated with the help of Leeds Olympians, Alistair and Jonny Brownlee.
The new office takes 20,000 sq ft across the ninth and tenth floors of the new office building.
It marks the start of the next chapter for the business, which opened its first regional office in Leeds in 1990 and has grown over the intervening 34 years to employ about 160 people in the city.
The Brownlee brothers joined around 180 employees, customers and invited guests at the opening event, which was hosted by Yorkshire broadcaster, Steph Hirst.
Markel’s divisional managing director for the UK, Neil Galjaard, and Simon Wilson, the president of Markel International, opened the building, with all four peddling static exercise bikes to power a live countdown.
Galjaard said: “Markel’s success has been inextricably linked to Leeds since we opened our first office here more than 30 years ago.
“It’s fantastic to be able to welcome not only colleagues from across the world to our new office in the city but to also have two of the city’s finest medal winning Olympians with us to help celebrate.
“This move to state-of-the-art facilities will support our growth and our teams to continue their award-winning work serving our customers and intermediary partners and creating bespoke solutions that provide meaningful support to businesses across the country.”
Wilson added: “Our Leeds team has been an integral part of our UK business since we opened in 1990, providing a vital regional presence so that we can offer a dedicated, local service to brokers and clients.
“Regional hubs like Leeds significantly bolster the strength of both the UK and global insurance markets by providing innovative ideas, talent and diverse perspectives.
“Our continued success in the UK plays a vital role in helping to drive profitable growth across the whole of our international business.”
Markel’s new Leeds home in City Square House is one of the city’s newest office buildings, offering 138,859 sq ft of space within the city’s commercial business district. The offices are next to Leeds Railway Station and opposite Channel 4’s Leeds HQ.
