Bruntwood SciTech has launched its latest innovation hub, West Village in the heart of Leeds city centre, following an ambitious £20 million redevelopment project.
Already 75% pre-let, West Village offers 230,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art workspace designed to help innovation thrive and stimulate collaborations between like-minded businesses. To support flexibility and business growth, West Village offers a mix of co-working, serviced and leased spaces with varying lease lengths suitable for businesses of all sizes from startups to large, established businesses. It will support the city’s vibrant culture of knowledge, creativity and innovation and contribute to the economic growth impact from the innovation sector to the city.
Lloyds Bank recently named Leeds the fastest growing digital economy in the UK, and businesses already confirmed to make West Village home include global insurtech innovators QBE, who have located their robotics centre and technological development hub there, Australian fintech company, PEXA, and leading coding bootcamp providers Northcoders.
The launch of West Village marks the culmination of an ambitious development project by Bruntwood SciTech – a joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General, and Greater Manchester Pension Fund – that has completely reimagined the former site of West One and Castle House.
Improvements have been made to the building to reduce CO2 emissions, improve air quality, reuse rainwater, reduce noise and create new habitats for local birds and wildlife. As part of the redevelopment, the building has been fitted with high efficiency air source heat pumps, sensor technology to promote the use of natural ventilation, new windows and additional wall insulation.
The design of the new workspace also has sustainability and wellbeing at its heart, and is focused around an expansive new entrance space with shared lounge, breakout spaces, meeting rooms, a café operated by independent retailer Second City Coffee, art curated through a partnership with Leeds University students, and a central courtyard with expansive biophilia that will provide the city centre with much needed green space.
West Village also offers some of the best wellness facilities in the city with a new state-of-the-art wellness facility, RESET Leeds, operated by premium training brand FORM. Offering Yoga, Pilates and Barre classes, as well as mindfulness and wellbeing sessions, RESET Leeds is open to all abilities and available to both businesses based in West Village and the general public. The building also offers a mindfulness contemplation room, nursing and expressing room, the largest secure cycle storage facility in the city, a sports kit drying room, and premium shower, changing and locker facilities.
In a double celebration, Bruntwood SciTech has also announced the refurbishment completion of nearby workspace 14 King Street, part of the company’s city centre innovation cluster. This past year Bruntwood SciTech has invested £314m into its workspaces across Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham and has refurbished or is underway in bringing 1.45m sq ft of state-of-the-art workspace to market for innovation-led businesses; for startups through to global HQs.
An ideal location within the city’s business district and exactly halfway between West Village and Platform, the city’s dedicated Tech Hub connected to Leeds Station, 14 King Street is home to forward-thinking, innovation-led firms including sustainable engineering and architecture consultant Stantec, leading laser eye surgery provider, Optical Express and a satellite campus of Trinity College London’s language school.
Businesses locating to 14 King Street and West Village will join Bruntwood SciTech’s established innovation community in Leeds, as well as their UK-wide science, tech and innovation community of 1,100 like-minded businesses to build new connections, access collaboration opportunities, and specialist business support including direct connections to highly skilled talent, funding and new markets.
Andrew Cooke, Regional Director – Leeds for Bruntwood SciTech, said: “West Village is the culmination of a hugely ambitious and important redevelopment project for the city. Leeds has built a reputation as a leading technology ecosystem and for good reason, with hundreds of innovative businesses now calling the city home. So it’s crucial that we continue to provide forward-thinking workspaces to ensure that these businesses are set up for success here. West Village does just that and more, offering spaces that encourage collaboration, inspirational thinking, and a positive work-life balance.
“Having already built a successful ecosystem of tech-led businesses at nearby Platform, we are excited for West Village and 14 King Street to join and build this community, ultimately adding to Leeds’ burgeoning technology status.”
At West Village, Bruntwood SciTech partnered with Robertsons, Cubic Works, 3D Reid, I Want Plants and DWLLP while Ultimate Group carried out the works at 14 King Street. CBRE and Knight Frank support West Village while Cushman & Wakefield and Fox Lloyd Jones support 14 King Street.
