August 11, 2009
Highcross has let the seventh floor of Toronto Square, its latest Leeds city centre office development, to Zolfo Cooper Ltd.
The 7,050 sq ft top floor has been let by Highcross on a ten-year lease at a headline rent of £27 per sq ft – a new high for Leeds city centre.
The letting comes just one week after completion of the building’s £10 million re-development and extension programme, which has created 90,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in the heart of the city’s legal and financial district.
The seventh floor is one of three new glazed floors added to the building, benefiting from stunning views over the city and beyond. More than 30% of the Toronto Square scheme is new build, with a full height extension added to the rear of the original building.
Toronto Square is also the first extensive redevelopment/ refurbishment project in the city centre to achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating and the only building to achieve this standard in Leeds’ traditional office and financial core.
Zolfo Cooper, a leading independent corporate advisory and restructuring firm, will move its Leeds office to Toronto Square in early September. Partner, Stuart Mackellar, said: “We are delighted to be moving to the Highcross redevelopment at Toronto Square, which occupies a prime city centre location and is close to our customers. With more than fifty professional staff in Leeds, we have outgrown our existing premises and the excellent specification of Toronto Square really meets our requirements by providing a great working environment for our highly skilled team.”
Highcross commercial development director, Chris Mills adds: “We are delighted to have secured such a high quality tenant as our first letting. Achieving this significant letting, just one week after completion, and at a new high for Leeds city centre, highlights the strength of the location, high quality specification and the added bonus of excellence in the building’s environmental performance “.
To improve the building’s energy efficiency, Highcross opted for renewable energy technology, installing air source heat pumps to extract the heat from the air around the building and convert it into energy to drive the heating and cooling system. It also invested in initiatives to improve the site’s ecology, providing areas of green roofs and nest boxes to encourage black redstart, swifts and house sparrows.
As part of the re-development programme, a new entrance has been created on Toronto Street, with a central landscaped square located in front of the new reception. Secure parking for 35 cars has also been provided beneath the courtyard extension.
Agents for Toronto Square are CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank. BNP Paribas acted for Zolfo Cooper.
