Vote of confidence for market as construction starts on new office building

MEPC has given Yorkshire’s commercial property market a major boost after starting construction of the next phase of Wellington Place in Leeds.

6 Wellington Place is the first speculative grade A office development to have been constructed in Leeds for more than six years.

The five-storey building will offer 104,000 sq ft of grade A office and retail space.

With a prominent entrance on to Tower Square at the heart of the development, 6 Wellington Place will feature a floor to ceiling atrium, landscaped roof terrace, retail space and flexible office suites ranging from 3,500 sq ft to 19,600 sq ft.

MEPC expects to complete construction by the end of 2015.

James Dipple, chief executive of MEPC, said the decision to begin work on 6 Wellington Place demonstrated the firm’s ongoing commitment to Leeds and the wider region, as well as providing evidence of growing levels of occupier demand and confidence in the market.

Mr Dipple said: “6 Wellington Place will be another game-changer from MEPC for corporate workspace in Leeds following the recent completion of the 35,000 sq ft 10 Wellington Place, occupied by law firm Shulmans and private bank, Brown Shipley.

“We believe in the concept of creating a sense of place and our ambition, which we are quickly realising, is to create an amazing business quarter and community here at Wellington Place.

“We are delighted to be developing this important project in an aspirational city such as Leeds.

“Bringing forward such a positive opportunity like 6 Wellington Place is being driven by the growth and confidence we are seeing in Leeds and across the entire market as economic conditions continue to improve.

“With 6 Wellington Place we will not only provide businesses within Leeds with the space they require to grow further but also attract new names to the city and region.

“It will also fulfil a need for new high quality energy efficient office space, reflecting that the city is one of the UK’s key centres for financial and professional services. As demands upon such companies change MEPC is looking to respond to that change by providing floor space where these businesses will be able to operate effectively and recruit and maintain the best staff.”

Commenting on the master plan for delivering the remainder of Wellington Place, located in Leeds’s West End, Mr Dipple said: “We believe the market is strong and like any forward thinking and growing company we would like to capitalise on that.

“As such, our investors are looking to bring forward further phases of Wellington Place and we are well on the way to ultimately creating our vision of creating a market changing place making project offering over 1m sq ft of commercial, retail, leisure and residential space.”

Shepherd Construction is the appointed contractor on the build.

The agents for 6 Wellington Place are Jeff Pearey at Jones Lang LaSalle and Adam Cockroft of DTZ.