Goodman secures Leeds’ largest letting in almost ten years

PROPERTY group Goodman has secured an 81,911 sq ft letting to financial services company Lowell Group at Leeds Valley Park.

Lowell Group will occupy the whole of the Ellington building on a 15 year lease.
The letting is the largest in the Leeds’ office market, including both in and out of town developments, for almost ten years.

Goodman which develops and manages the park will welcome Lowell’s employees to their new Northern headquarters in spring 2014.

The lease enables Lowell to accommodate the continued growth in team members whilst maintaining its commitment to the city. Lowell currently has over 700 employees having started with just 30 in 2004.

The Ellington building’s open plan floor space provides flexibility to respond to future operational growth, catering for up to 1,000 Lowell employees.

James Raven, development director, UK Business Parks, Goodman said: “This is a major letting for both Leeds Valley Park and the region. Lowell is one of the city’s most respected companies and its move here is a valuable addition to the Park. This has been a testing few years for the regional office market; however, during 2013 we have started to see some traction and an upturn in enquiries. It is very encouraging that this enquiry has translated into a major new customer at our Park.”

James Cornell, CEO Lowell Group, said: “Our vision is to develop better people, better practices and better systems to deliver better results. Our new home at Leeds Valley Park combines striking architecture, high specification buildings and an energy-efficient design, making it the perfect place for our team to continue to develop and grow. The Park is already home to leading international companies and will provide us with the flexible office space we need to support our ambitious growth plans. Importantly the site is easy for our team members to get to being located immediately to the south-east of Leeds city centre, in an area that is highly-accessible via the motorway network, whilst only a short distance from the centre. We are pleased to have found a site which allows us to remain in Leeds, where our business began, and which is the third largest city in the UK for business, legal, and financial services.”

Savills and Jones Lang LaSalle advised Goodman on the letting, with Deloitte acting on behalf of Lowell.