The Business Desk
29th January 2020
Miran Rahman
CEG has let almost 3,000 sq ft of office space to Schofield Insurance Brokers in Leeds.
The letting to the independent insurance broker means Number One, Kirkstall Forge is now fully occupied.
It follows CEG’s submission of a planning application for the development of the next 200,000 sq ft of commercial space at the £400m Kirkstall Forge development in Leeds earlier this month.
Schofield Insurance Brokers is relocating its 34-strong team to Studio 3 and Studio 6 across 2,798 sq ft at Number One, Kirkstall Forge from its present base in Yeadon.
The business is a founding member of Broker Network, the UK’s longest established insurance network, and offers advice to a wide range of commercial and private clients.
For Schofield Insurance Brokers director Tom Butler, the move has added significance. His family was involved for six generations with the management of Kirkstall Forge from 1779, purchasing it from the Cardigan Estate in 1893. It remained in the Butler family until 1974.
Butler said: “This agreement is an important one for Schofield Insurance Brokers as we embark on the next phase of our growth journey.
“Personally, it’s a proud moment to be involved in a successful business at Kirkstall Forge and to follow in the footsteps of the Butler family, which has always held this nationally important site close to its heart.”
Gary Holland, managing director of Schofield Insurance Brokers, added: “Number One, Kirkstall Forge is a fantastic building in a fantastic location, and we are hugely excited about our move and the benefits it will bring to our hard working and talented team.”
Facilities at Number One, Kirkstall Forge, include a full suite of easy to book meeting rooms, business lounge, Butler’s café kitchen bar a and the Kirkstall Forge Life team, who provide event and activities programmes.
Paul Richardson, investment manager at CEG, said: “We have always been proud of the long history of Kirkstall Forge and to welcome the Butlers back here is brilliant for us all on a very personal level.
“Schofield Insurance Brokers will be joining a range of leading organisations, including Bupa, Zenith and Mercedes-Benz Vans UK to Number One, Kirkstall Forge and it is testament to its offer, location, unrivalled technology, on-site amenities and superb transport links that the building has been so quickly fully let.
“Ultimately, the £400m Kirkstall Forge scheme is set to become home to a thriving mixed-use community comprising 1,050 new homes, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space. We are excited about the delivery of further phases of the development over the coming months.”
Schofield Insurance Brokers has taken the space on a flex lease, and will complete its move in April 2020. Fox Lloyd Jones and WSB acted for CEG.