RICS closes Leeds office as part of regional shake-up

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is closing its Leeds office as part of a series of regional office closures. The organisation represents professionals in the land, property and construction sectors.

The Leeds site is one of six that will not re-open following the coronavirus lockdown, along with those in Newcastle, Salford, Nottingham, Belfast and Cardiff.

Offices in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh will reopen in October, the organisation said. A spokeswoman told The Yorkshire Post that the decision would not result in any redundancies.

RICS’ Leeds office had been in Northern Terrace, Queen Square Court.

In a statement, the organisation said: "Taking into account compliance with local government guidelines around COVID-19, our own corporate guidance and feedback from RICS staff, we have decided to extend our period of remote working for most global offices until the end of September.

"With the exception of London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, we will be closing all our other UK offices permanently. We have made this decision after considering that the nature of those offices does not give us the type of space we will need for the new future of work and after assessing how we can still deliver a programme of engagement by embracing technology.

"We have liaised with the small number of colleagues who are based in these offices and impacted by this decision."