We’ve always said that Leeds is a great place to live but did you know it’s also a great place to work? If you’re looking for a new base for your business, what better place than right in the heart of the Leeds? If you’re struggling to choose a business location, here’s why we think Leeds is your best bet.
It’s well connected.
Leeds is seriously well connected. It’s perfectly placed for all business needs. It has direct links to the North, South, East and West. You can hop on the M1 and A1 motorways which will take you straight to London or Edinburgh or equally as easy jump straight onto the M62 connecting you to both coasts at Hull or Liverpool.
Don’t drive? No problem! The train is also well connected and super convenient. You can be in Manchester in under an hour, London in under 2 hours and Edinburgh in under 3. It’s no wonder Leeds Train Station is one of the busiest outside London. And with a further £46million being invested into the
Sustainable Travel Gateway Scheme this will only become better and more efficient.
Major investment has been done at Leeds Airport too making it one of the fastest growing in the UK, meaning you’re not only connected nationally, but internationally! With regular flights to Europe, you could be in Paris in under 2 hours and even be regularly connected to North America and Asia.
It’s growing fast.
Leeds is the
fastest growing city in the UK with a population of 3million and a workforce of 1.37million, contributing to a booming £64.6billion economy. But it’s not finished there: over the next 10 years, the economy is forecast to grow by a further 21% with financial and business services set to generate over half of GVA growth over that period.
If your business is a startup business then Leeds could be the place for you. It is well known for embracing its start-up culture as it has one of the highest numbers of start-ups in recent years. Not only that, but Leeds start-ups also have a respectable
41.8% survival rate placing Leeds in the top 10 in the country. According to
Leeds City Council there are already over 6000 small and medium sized Leeds businesses, so you’ll be sure of a warm welcome and plenty of support. Leeds’ affinity for start-ups means it’s the perfect place to grow your business.
It’s attracting big names.
There are many diverse businesses already well established in Leeds, so you’ll be in good company. Initially it’s the retail and leisure sector that has flourished with outlets such as Trinity Leeds bringing major names to the city and now the £150million investment into
Victoria Gate, with its landmark John Lewis store, has made Leeds the 3
rd best place to shop outside London.
It’s not just shopping that’s booming, banking is big business here too. Leeds is well known for its long-standing reputation as the biggest financial centre outside of London. This sector alone employs more than 12000 people according to
The City UK. With 2 of the UK’s main Building Societies (Leeds and Yorkshire) already calling the city home, First Direct choosing Leeds as its Northern base and the Bank of England having its only offices here outside of London, you can see why Leeds is a big contender in the financial world.
Other large corporations and businesses have now jumped on board and made the city their home, such as ASDA, NHS teaching trust, Centrica, Channel 4 and Jet2.
It’s fast becoming considered a major technology hub too with the likes of Sky Betting and Gaming investing £11million into the area and creating 100+ new jobs. In fact, the city reportedly has a digital GVA of £671million according to Tech Nation 2016. More recently, in a Top100 list of the fastest growing Tech companies in the North, 13 were based in Leeds, including the winner
(Northern Tech Awards 2023). All these big named businesses in Leeds are bringing huge investment into the city along with a solid reputation.
It’s got key infrastructure.
Leeds businesses are benefiting from major investment into its broadband infrastructure. Almost all premises can already access superfast broadband but by working collaboratively with BT and their partner Open Reach, Leeds are establishing a full fibre network to public sector buildings across the city. Improving connectivity has a great many benefits to Leeds businesses across the board.
There’s still plenty of room for growth in the city. With investment into The South Bank (Europe’s largest city centre regeneration brown site) already well under way, other sites such as Wellington Place and Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone are providing many opportunities for more businesses to thrive in Leeds. Combined with a grant from Leeds City Council of up to £500,000 through the Leeds City Region Business Growth Programme to help with costs of relocating, fitting out premises and investments in equipment, there are many incentives to join the wave of businesses in Leeds.
It has a great social scene.
It’s well known that Leeds has a great social scene with plenty of bars, restaurants, and cultural events throughout the city. It makes for a very appealing work life balance. Added to that here you get more value for money. This is true for both employees and businesses in Leeds. According to
Leeds List it’s cheaper to live here and cheaper to rent office spaces here compared to London.
With all these perks its clear to see why businesses in Leeds are thriving, so why wouldn’t you choose to join the list of businesses already established in Leeds? Lucky for you, we can help! We have
amazing offices available in Leeds right now across our two buildings:
The Tannery and Calls Wharf. Look at our available workspaces and get in touch.