Swedish bank Handelsbanken relocates to 3 St Paul’s Place in Sheffield city centre

Swedish bank Handelsbanken has taken 3,500 sq ft of office space at 3 St Paul’s Place in Sheffield city centre.

3 St Paul’s Place, developed by CTP and U+I and built by Bowmer & Kirkland, is the final part of the £130m Heart of the City project.

The property is the first speculative office building in Sheffield to be developed since the recession.

Handelsbanken, which has been in Sheffield since 1957, relocated from Tudor Square in the city.

The construction of 3 St Paul’s Place went ahead following a landmark agreement between CTP and U+I with Sheffield City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The 10-storey 3 St Paul’s Place comprises 76,000 sq ft of prime Grade A office space with each 8,000 sq ft floor offering offices suites from 2,000 sq ft.

David Topham, director of Manchester-based developers CTP, said: “Handelsbanken’s decision to relocate to 3 St Paul’s Place is a resounding endorsement of our development. It is also extremely encouraging that a company with Handelsbanken’s reputation for quality, service and excellence has chosen our building as their base in Sheffield.

“They join global civil engineers Arup at 3 St Paul’s Place, another company with a superb reputation. We are very proud of our occupiers.”

Clare Ibbotson, branch manager of Handelsbanken, commented: “Sheffield Tudor Square are delighted to announce that they will be moving in to 3 St Paul’s Place early in the New Year. As the longest established branch within the South Yorkshire area, the move is to facilitate the continued growth of our business.

“3 St Paul’s Place was seen as the ideal choice in terms of first-class, quality office space with superb facilities in a key central location, which matches our aspirations.

“We see this as underlining Handelsbanken’s long-term commitment to Sheffield and its customers. Our branch office in Barker’s Pool, which serves the Don Valley, will be retained.”

St Paul’s Place is a mixed-use scheme which features the 161-bed St Paul’s Mercure 4* hotel; No1 and No 2 office developments occupied by lawyers DLA Piper, RBS, Barclays, accountants PwC, Coutts and the Department of Children, Schools and Families; a 330-apartment residential tower block; the famous “Cheesegrater” car park, operated by Q-Park; a casino; and restaurants and cafes including Pizza Express, Piccolinos, Café Nero, Bill’s Restaurant and Café Rouge.

The architects of 3 St Paul’s Place are Manchester-based Hodder and Partners.

The marketing agents for 3 St Paul’s Place are the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, together with the Leeds offices of BNP Paribas and DTZ.