Major Leeds city centre office building to receive £7.5m refurbishment boost

A landmark office building in Leeds is set to benefit from a £7.5m remodelling and refurbishment project.

The building - 1 City Square - totals 108,000 sq ft across 11 storeys.

Investment and asset manager APAM acquired the property for £32.3m in January 2019 on behalf of Danish pension fund investment company Britannia Invest.

Close to Channel 4’s new headquarters and opposite Leeds train station, 1 City Square’s occupiers include business advisory firm Deloitte, which has over 50,000 sq ft of space.

A team from building and project consultancy Paragon comprising director James Onions; associate director Keith Quigley; and senior cost manager Andrew Kehoe, has been instructed to lead the project.

Paragon previously provided APAM with building, M&E and environmental surveys of 1 City Square before the building’s acquisition.

APAM’s senior asset manager, Peter Owen, said: “We are committed to revitalising this prestigious office address in Leeds. Paragon was an ideal choice for the project and cost management role due to the consultancy’s dynamism and commercially astute approach.

“We look forward to bringing more much-needed Grade A office space to the booming Leeds market in 2020.”

APAM is undertaking a full remodelling of the atrium and main entrance, whilst also refurbishing five of the building’s storeys.

Enhanced electric vehicle charging points, cycle storage, fitness studio, shower and changing facilities, café and business lounge will also be included. The work is scheduled to complete in 2020.

Based in London and Manchester, APAM has invested over £1bn on behalf of its joint venture partners and currently manages £1.5bn of assets across the UK.

APAM was appointed by Britannia Invest to manage a UK-wide office portfolio including 1 City Square worth more than £450m.

In addition to Manchester, Paragon has offices in London, Esher, Edinburgh and Bristol.

Knight Frank and CBRE are the agents for 1 City Square. Specialist construction company Ardmac is the main contractor.

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