The Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank has completed a letting in one of the city’s most iconic buildings, which has just been comprehensively refurbished and restored to its former glory.
In conjunction with practical completion, a leading tech company has taken 7,887 sq ft (37 per cent of the building) of quality office space across two floors at One Sovereign Quay on Leeds Bridge.
This historic building, which has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment and is now available for immediate occupation, played a starring role in one of the very oldest pieces of film in the world.
It was the subject of French inventor Louis Le Prince’s pioneering film of industrial Leeds in 1888.
The grainy black-and-while film, showing people and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge, has achieved legendary status as the first moving picture sequence using a single lens camera and a strip of paper.
A rent of £32 per sq ft has been achieved on a 10-year lease with a five-year break.
Victoria Harris, office agency specialist with Knight Frank, who are marketing the building on behalf of Charles Street Buildings Group, explained: “This is a building which is steeped in history and is also so full of promise and potential for the future. What a heady mixture.
“Formerly known as Windsor House, this sleeping giant has undergone a multi-million pound makeover, including the addition of south-facing terraces and full-height glazing on the ground, fourth and fifth floors, which provides over 21,000 sq ft of stunning Grade A office space. It offers the ultimate combination of character, prominence, positioning, design and stunning views across the city.
“The letting to this flourish tech company is a ringing endorsement of the quality of the refurbishment and the stunning new office space at One Sovereign Quay. There are open plan suites remaining from 4,124 sq ft which are available for immediate occupation and are already to subject of strong interest.”
Ms Harris said: “By appearing in one of the oldest surviving pieces of film in existence, One Sovereign Quay has truly cemented itself in history. Louis Le Prince filmed Leeds Bridge and the surrounding buildings during the heady late-Victorian years of industrial growth and commerce and it’s only right that the building is now re-imagined to reflect Leeds’ continuing regeneration and its need to evolve for contemporary life and work.”
