"Excellent news" as work begins on "significant" Thorpe Park office development

A Yorkshire property developer has announced that work has begun on a “significant” office building in Leeds.

Scarborough Group International (SGI) has started work on a new Thorpe Park office building, which is pre-let to credit management company Lowell.

The building, which spans 133,118 sq ft, has a gross development value of £52m, and is expected to be completed in September this year.

Lowell has agreed a 15 year lease to occupy the building and will relocate its UK headquarters from two sites at Leeds Valley Park.

Kevin McCabe, chairman at SGI, commented: “We are pleased to be able to start on site so quickly after securing planning consent, funding and of course concluding the landmark letting with our new neighbours Lowell.

“The transaction is excellent news for the region and a huge vote of confidence in the existing and future environment at Thorpe Park as well as an indicator that the office market remains strong, despite the pandemic.

“We continue to engage with businesses seeking to locate at Thorpe Park Leeds, some of which are existing occupiers looking to expand, and we remain committed to our ambition to deliver further phases of office development to ensure that Thorpe Park maintains and advances its position within the Northern Powerhouse as the flagship location for business, employment and quality of life.”

Lee Powell, divisional managing director of GMI Construction Group, principal contractor, said: “We are delighted to start on site with our next significant project at Thorpe Park Leeds as we maintain our long-term and trusted partnership with SGI to deliver phase two.

“The scale of delivery is considerable and as principal contractor we are excited to be working closely with the entire delivery team to build the biggest single office building in Leeds out of town history.

“It really is exciting to see how Thorpe Park Leeds has excelled in recent years to become a thriving business and leisure destination and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Lisa Wragg, head of office services at Lowell, said: “This building is the culmination of many months of tireless work by all involved to get it to this stage.

“We’re really excited to see the construction of our new home finally starting to take shape and look forward to celebrating the next milestone in due course.”

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