KPMG opens new Leeds office to capitalise on demand
KPMG has officially opened its new office building at One Sovereign Square in Leeds. The new office, covering 61,000 sq. ft. and housing more than 700 staff, will be the home-base of the firm’s pensions, financial services and restructuring team. Besides which, the new office will provide the full range of professional services for which the Big Four firm is known.
KPMG has opened its new, purpose built, office at One Sovereign Square in Leeds. The space spans four floors and provides 61,000 sq. ft. exclusively to the firm. The office was developed by urban regeneration specialist Muse Developments and built by Morgan Sindall. The building, one of three, was specifically designed to fit in with the context of the surrounding area and face into a central green space. The structure is equipped with a wide range of environmental technologies, including the use of sustainable timber, a green roof and cycle parking bays.
Regional base
The new space will house 700 of KPMG’s staff that work within the wider Yorkshire region, providing the full breadth of the professional services firm’s offerings, including audit, tax, and advisory. The key office will have particular competency in pensions, financial services and restructuring, with the national team operating from its new base. The decision to build and develop a new base in the area stems from growing demand for a broad-range of services within the region, from start-ups to multinationals, listed companies and organisations across the public sector.
“We are delighted with One Sovereign Square, which more than delivers on the ambitions we’ve held for our new Yorkshire office from the outset. As well as providing us with an unrivalled, modern, flexible working environment, designed to foster collaboration and innovation, this building shows some real flair,” comments Chris Hearld, Northern Region Chairman of KPMG, on the new office. “We are keenly looking forward to welcoming clients and contacts to our new home over the coming weeks. I have no doubt that this state-of-the-art space will help us to attract the very best talent and to provide an inspiring working environment that will play a part in enabling all of us to deliver excellence to the organisations and individuals with whom we work.”
Opening
Besides featuring business and local authority representatives, the opening of the office also saw local sports heroes take part, including Kevin Sinfield, who led Leeds Rhinos to seven Super League titles, as well as Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, the Olympic medal-winning Yorkshire triathletes. Pupils from Leeds West Academy and All Saints School, both supported by the profession services firm as part of its corporate responsibility activities, also took part in the opening.
Competition
PwC, in June of this year, also announced it would be moving into a new office development in Leeds, signing a 15-year lease to be the anchor tenant of the £100 million Central Square. The firm occupies 55,000 sq. ft. on the seventh and eighth floors, hosting around 700 accountants and advisors.
