Zenith secures expansion at Kirkstall Forge development in Leeds

Zenith Vehicle Contracts the independent leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing business, has let a further 18,500 sq ft seven-storey office development at Kirkstall Forge.

The company originally agreed a deal to relocate its global headquarters to the new development in 2016, and subsequently acquired Contract Vehicle Holdings earlier this year.

Zenith is now set to relocate both companies into a total of 63,000 sq ft of space over the top four floors of Number One Kirkstall Forge.

CEG, which is delivering the scheme, will also move its northern office into 10,000 sq ft of the ground floor alongside a new bar/restaurant, meeting and event space which open later this year.

This leaves only 32,700 sq ft available over two floors with large floor plates of 15,000 and 18,500 sq ft remaining, along with a self-contained ground floor suite of approximately 3,000 sq ft.

Jon Kenny, development director of CEG, said: “The commitment from Zenith and the opening of the new railway station have helped to kick-start Kirkstall Forge’s renaissance.

“At this first flagship office development, we have pushed the benchmark in terms of design, quality, flexibility and efficiency, and we have successfully secured one of the most significant pre-lets of this nature in Leeds in the last decade.

“Zenith shares our vision for this development and our teams will benefit from the on-site train station and the wooded river valley setting, in what will be one of the most sustainable office locations the city offers.

“We have seen a lot of interest in the remaining two floors and expect the building to be fully occupied in the coming months.”

Tim Buchan, chief executive officer of Zenith, commented: “Kirkstall Forge is another milestone in Zenith’s history and its location presents an opportunity to draw on the highly talented resources from within the North of England and establish a best-in-class headquarters for our future growth.”

CEG is managing the development of the 57 acre Kirkstall Forge scheme, which is set to become home to a mixed-use community in a wooded, riverside setting. Once complete, the scheme will comprise of 1,050 new homes, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space.

CEG has already overseen the delivery of £40m of investment, clearing and readying the site for development, building new roads and a bridge, opening the new railway station and constructing this first commercial development, Number One Kirkstall Forge.

Paul Fox of Fox Lloyd Jones, who negotiated the deal with CEG and Zenith, said: “This important new commitment from Zenith has helped to further endorse the pioneering quality and vision being delivered at Kirkstall Forge.

“To have pre-let such a significant amount of space to a single user with a number of months to go to completion is incredibly positive for the market generally and underlines that Kirkstall Forge is very credible competition to the City Centre.”