Land and property specialist Hargreaves Land has opened its first Leeds office in a bid to boost its development activity across Yorkshire, the North West and the Midlands.

The property development division of Hargreaves Services plc has signed a 5-year lease on a 1st floor suite at 14 King Street in the heart of Leeds’s commercial district with landlord, Bruntwood.

The move follows the firm’s creation of its central region earlier this year as part of its continued growth strategy to expand the reach of its UK regional network, which includes existing teams based in Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.

David Anderson, group property director at Hargreaves Land, said: “14 King Street is a quality base for our central region and provides the ideal platform for us to expand our pipeline of regional projects. We have secured a highly accessible address, within a short walk of City Square and the mainline rail station. Having such a presence in central Leeds will enable us to raise our profile in the area and strengthen relationships with our existing contact base as well as new development partners.”

“Expanding our land and property development business and replenishing our development pipeline is a key element of our strategic vision. We already benefit from a significant land bank, but we are constantly seeking to enhance our offering through an active acquisition strategy, whether that involves strategic land, joint venture partnerships or other development opportunities”.

This year the firm has made a number of new appointments to its central region including David Travis as development director and Zoe Shearman as development surveyor. Both will be based at King Street, alongside the firm’s head of asset management Andrew Johnson. The firm expects to strengthen its team with further appointments in the next 12 months.

Within its central region, Hargreaves Land is currently on site at the 250-hectare (618-acre) Unity regeneration scheme in Doncaster, where it is delivering over 2 million sq ft of prime employment space and over 3,100 new homes, in partnership with Waystone Developments.

In Bridlington, the firm is nearing practical completion of a £9.5m retail warehouse scheme, by way of a development partnership with Fintry Estates. The scheme will deliver 44,000 sq ft of new edge-of-centre retail floorspace under a development agreement with East Riding of Yorkshire Council and has already secured pre-lets with Lidl & B&M Retail.

Hargreaves Services plc is an AIM-listed business which employs more than 1,500 people and delivers key projects and services in the property and industrial sectors around the world. The firm’s extensive pipeline and strong heritage places it at the forefront of development across much of the UK, with an emphasis on creating positive places which incorporate vibrant, sustainable land and property solutions. The business has over 9,000 acres of land under management and benefits from a £450m development pipeline spread throughout the UK, including planning consent for over 4,600 homes and 4.5 million sq ft of commercial floorspace.