Yorkshire Building Society in Leeds move
YORKSHIRE Building Society has revealed plans to move 800 staff into a new base in Leeds as well as plans to invest £11m in its Bradford head office site.
The mutual will move into two floors of the Broad Gate development on the Headrow in Leeds before the end of the year as well as carrying out an ambitious refurbishment project at its Yorkshire Drive site, where 1,000 staff will continue to be based.
Yorkshire Building Society, which has 230 branches, 4,100 staff, 3.5m members and assets of approximately £33.5bn, said that the investment highlights its commitment to the region.
Chief executive Chris Pilling said: “This investment in the Yorkshire region marks the next exciting phase for us as an organisation. As a group we’ve experienced substantial growth in recent years resulting in significant accommodation issues, particularly in relation to our offices in Bradford, which are now overcrowded and in need of refurbishment.
“While we have introduced measures to alleviate some of the immediate pressures by securing additional space in Bradford, this has resulted in fragmentation of our teams across multiple sites.”
The £11m investment in Bradford is part of an ambitious refurbishment project for the Yorkshire Drive site which will see more than 1,000 individuals retained at the site. The new Broad Gate site will accommodate around 800 colleagues.
Mr Pilling added: “As a group we want to create modern, flexible environments that enable the bringing together of ideas and expertise for the benefit of our customers and our people. Our investment in Yorkshire Drive alongside the additional space in Leeds will allow us to achieve this.
“Broad Gate offers excellent premises in the heart of a thriving city with good transport links and access to first-rate local facilities. Splitting operations is standard across the industry and a presence in multiple cities spreads risk as an organisation and enhances recruitment opportunities. The addition of the Leeds base for the society is part of a five year strategic plan that will ultimately result in two key offices in Yorkshire – Broad Gate, Leeds and Yorkshire Drive, Bradford.
“This announcement today not only reaffirms our commitment to the region but to the sector as a whole. We are investing in our business, we are opening new branches on the high street, we are actively recruiting in the region, we are increasing our mortgage lending, we are committed to offering competitive savings rates and we have retained a face-to-face financial advice service. Ultimately we are making the most of our expanded capability to enhance our products and breadth of services for the benefit of all our members,” he added.
