Sheffield Newspapers, part of the Johnston Press group which includes Sheffield Star and the Sheffield Telegraph is moving more than 400 staff to The Balance offices in the city.
As part of a deal brokered by the Sheffield Office of Knight Frank and set for completion in October, Johnston Press will relocate its accounts department from Leeds to the new Sheffield office, which will see the group take 27,000 sq ft at floors five, eight and part of the ninth floor at The Balance.
Johnston Publishing, holding company for Johnston Press, sold its Sheffield headquarters at Telegraph House on York Street, to property company Toscafield for £3.6 million in June and has signed an agreement to lease at The Balance on the junction of Trippett Lane and West Street.
Ben White, Associate at Knight Frank, said: “This is a tremendous letting for the building, the landlord CBRE Global Investors and Sheffield overall, retaining a key occupier and employer in the city centre. It is also one of the largest office lettings in Sheffield for some time which will create a hub for Johnston Publishing in Sheffield, bringing additional jobs from Leeds.
“The Balance is an ideal location for the group as it is right in the city centre, keeping the Sheffield Star and Sheffield Telegraph editorial teams local. The building offers an impressive reception and amenity space in the building as well as enhanced accommodation after an on-going Landlord refurbishment programme. They will not only be joined by the group’s regional advertising department and other in-house news titles, but they will relocate the accounts function from Leeds into Sheffield.”
Johnston Press initiated a swathe of office sales in 2013 to raise in the region of £8 million.
Major sell-offs include the former Yorkshire Post building in Leeds, which is being redeveloped as offices, shops and housing, the Peterborough Telegraph print works which has been developed as a housing estate and the Northampton Chronicle and Echo building in Upper Mounts which has been converted into a grocery superstore.
The Balance is located just yards from the city’s Orchard Square shopping precinct, the Town Hall and Heart of the City development and Johnston Publishing will join existing tenants Plusnet, Nabuh Energy, Access Computer Consulting, Horwich Farrelly, KPMG and Protocol Education.
Ben added: “The Johnston Publishing letting takes up a significant proportion of the remaining space at The Balance and we now only have a suite of 1,560 sq ft left available to let.”