Inside the £3m luxury office penthouse of multi-millionaire businessman and Leeds United fan Steve Parkin

A former miner turned lorry driver who left school with no qualifications, Steve Parkin is every inch the self-made man.

His logistics empire and other businesses have made him a multi-millionaire with all the trappings that wealth can bring.

One of the secrets of his success is continually asking the question “is this a good investment?” and he applies it to almost everything.

So Leeds United supporters keen for him to buy the club could be disappointed. He’s a loyal fan and his firm, Clipper Logistics, sponsors a stand at Elland Road, but he’s probably noticed that football clubs can be money pits.

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He’s recently moved the Clipper plc HQ to a spectacular penthouse in Leeds city centre - and the fit-out alone cost £3m, designed to feel like a home-from-home.

It is on a prime plot on Wellington Street once destined to be Lumiere, the biggest skyscraper in Europe.

The recession killed that dream and Steve and a business partner later bought “a £5.2m hole in the ground” which has become Central Square, with swish offices, an M&S and cafes.

“The top floor was a plant room but I could see there was enough space for a new headquarters,” says Steve, 56, who sold his share of the building to M&G and rents the space from them.

Leeds-based DLA Design did the layout and commercial and domestic interior designer Emma Bennett, of Ralph Capper Interiors - now owned by Steve - furnished the space with no set budget and commissioning Yorkshire craftspeople to create bespoke pieces. She designed the boardroom’s 26-seater walnut conference table, which has a gold inlay, pop-up screens and microphones. The total cost was £200,000 and the chairs by Knoll were £3,000 each.

Steve said: “It’s all been a good investment in that it is symbolic of the company’s success and it’s a statement. It’s somewhere I can entertain clients and it tells them that we are a serious outfit. There is nothing else like this in Leeds, this is a London-style office.

“Clipper started with me and a van and we now have 46 warehouses and 8,000 employees. I also have other businesses. The old, traditional office in Gelderd Road didn’t reflect that progress.”

His office boasts a £30,000 desk and a handmade leather sofa designed by Leeds’s Laura Wellington.

Leeds-based Arlington Interiors supplied the kitchen and the bathrooms are clad in marble. Even the door handles are bespoke, made from saddle leather and designed to look like riding crops.

Outside, a grim-looking terrace has been turned into an outdoor room with a wall full of plants and a butterfly hotel.

“I am delighted with the way it all looks,” he says, adding that he stopped short of adding a bedroom in case his wife got the wrong idea.

“That was a no-no but I love spending time here. The view is amazing,” he says, pointing over the city centre rooftops to his beloved Elland Road ground.