Following its announcement in May to relocate its office at Wellington Place the leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson is celebrating its move to 5 Wellington Place. The firm will be expanding its office occupancy at Leeds premier office development to 26,500 sq. ft. by taking two floors of the latest building completed at Wellington Place by prominent commercial property developer and asset manager, MEPC.
The move remains one of the largest city centre deals in the UK this year* and further establishes Wellington Place as the go-to business district within Leeds.
By moving a short distance across the central Leeds development where it occupied floorspace in 1 and 2 Wellington Place for the past 17 years, the relocation underpins Willis Towers Watson’s commitment to strengthening its Leeds operation through sustained growth. Growing from 80 to 245 employees, the new space allows all teams to be under one roof.
Utilising CBRE’s Leeds Building Consultancy team to oversee the office-fit out and appointing leading office design company Claremont to deliver the project, the interior has been fitted out in a very flexible way to represent the firm’s agile and accessible approach to business. The space offers a welcoming yet well thought out interior reflecting the importance to Willis Towers Watson of its clients and staff.
With a strong belief in showcasing and developing regional talent, over 80 per cent of the interiors have been manufactured in Yorkshire. A statement client reception desk and area was created by J Carey Design of Skipton, soft seating from Connection of Huddersfield, staircase by MM Developments of Sheffield and desking and storage from Staverton’s in Rotherham. In addition, wall prints and glass transfers depicting iconic scenes of the region feature heavily, with subtle leaf designs to ceiling fixtures and extensive planting throughout to bring a sense of the great Yorkshire outdoors into the expansive workplace.
Slavica Sedlan, Managing Consultant at Willis Towers Watson, said: “I am thrilled with our new office and proud that so much has been sourced in Yorkshire. After significant growth of our business in Leeds I was delighted that MEPC could accommodate our expansion into newly completed 5 Wellington Place. Since making the move a little over a week ago, we have already seen a great response to our new space from clients and a huge buzz in the office as our staff embrace their new work place. The sense of space and carefully thought out finish created by Claremont is truly remarkable, transforming these vast two floors with inspirational interior architecture, while creating a comfortable environment that supports different ways of working.
“In addition to the interiors, we’re so pleased to remain at Wellington Place, forming part of the very genuine community spirit in the area. This is not only fostered by excellent landlords, but aided with all the extras we have become used to, such as access to fabulous outdoor space including plenty of greenery and big skies, not often found in a city centre, and truly give a sense of wellbeing. Access to café bars and restaurants make it easy to cater for client requests and an onsite gym, five a side football pitch and exercise classes all help in keeping our staff fit and well.”
James Dipple, CEO of MEPC also commented: We’ve worked hard to create the ideal office space, community and environment for our customers, so I’m really pleased to see Willis Towers Watson have decided to expand at Wellington Place and have settled in with such ease to their new home. As we continue to develop more buildings, we are not only welcoming the growth of our occupiers, but also welcoming big names to the area. We will continue to provide dedicated customer service care with a constant focus on great amenities which have proven a big success for productivity within the area.”
Mark Rugg, Associate Director, CBRE’s Building Consultancy team added: “We’re delighted to complete this high quality office fit-out at 5 Wellington Place on behalf of Willis Towers Watson. The passion and strong direction from Willis Towers Watson and exemplary attention to detail from Claremont and the design team has culminated in an internal environment that fulfils the expectations of a modern workspace.
Ken Bundy, Claremont’s Creative Director concluded: “At the heart of this project is Willis Towers Watson’s desire to really promote wellbeing and to create an environment that employees want to be in. The finished result is testament to that and also provides ample space for the business to pursue its long term growth goals. This project has been built on strong collaborative working between ourselves, CBRE and Willis Towers Watson from the outset and we are especially proud of the end result.”
The development at 5 Wellington Place currently has the final two floors available within the prominent five-storey building, offering grade A office accommodation with ancillary retail space and benefits from a BREAAM excellent rating. The significant location, on the junction of Northern Street and Whitehall Road, establishes 5 Wellington Place as a striking landmark building for Leeds. This forms part of the wider 290,000 sq. ft. of recently constructed existing office and retail space at Wellington Place, with additional amenities such as a state-of-the-art gym, bars and restaurants, at the new urban quarter, which has extensive public space.
Number 3 Wellington Place is the next exciting phase which is due to complete in December this year. Situated on the junction of Wellington Street and Northern Street, the building will form the principal north-east gateway into Wellington Place.
