Castleforge invests in Leeds city centre’s Yorkshire House

The investment in the 85,000 sq ft building comes after Castleforge’s research team identified Leeds as the UK’s fastest growing city.

Castleforge forecasts that the office, which is currently over 70 per cent occupied, holds a gross development value of over £45m.

With the investment, Castleforge plans to create flexible workspace through its provider, Clockwise.

Factors contributing to Castleforge’s decision to invest in Leeds included the city’s growing economy, internationally renowned universities, increasing population of young professionals and high concentration of knowledge-intensive jobs.

Castleforge also cited the city’s burgeoning technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector, illustrated by Channel 4’s recent relocation from London.

Despite the challenging year faced by the city and the office industry, Castleforge said it is confident in both the office leasing market and the potential for flexible office spaces in Leeds to grow.

The purchase of Yorkshire House is part of a wider series of investments in office real estate by Castleforge across UK regional cities including Manchester, Southampton and Exeter.

Brandon Hollihan, founding partner of Castleforge Partners, said: “With a diverse economy, huge student population and the highest concentration of knowledge-intensive jobs in Britain, not to mention the fastest growing city in the UK over recent years, we have strong conviction in Leeds.

“We look forward to working with local companies and welcoming them to Yorkshire House as new members of our flexible workspace provider, Clockwise.”