UK Infrastructure Bank commits to Leeds with new long-term office lease

UKIB will move into its new city centre location at 2 Whitehall Quay in early summer 2024 following the end of its current lease at One Embankment. The Bank will occupy three floors of the newly refurbished premises, alongside the National Infrastructure Commission and the Low Carbon Contracts Company.

The move to Whitehall Quay reflects UKIB’s long-term commitment to Leeds and its continued contributions to the economic and professional vibrancy of one of the largest centres for finance and professional services outside London. With almost 250 permanent staff, the new space will also accommodate the Bank’s changing needs as a larger and more established organisation. 

James Emmett, COO of UK Infrastructure Bank, said:  

"We are delighted to be strengthening our commitment to Leeds with a new space at 2 Whitehall Quay. The fact UKIB is anchored in the city is a key part of the Bank’s identity, and we are proud to have our headquarters here. Signing this long-term lease marks the next chapter in UKIB’s development and recognises the strength of the talent and expertise in the region’s vibrant financial ecosystem. Our new premises will provide a space that enables us to house our staff, meet with clients, attract the best talent and collaborate in our mission to tackle climate change and boost growth across the UK.”

James Heath, Chief Executive of the National Infrastructure Commission, said:

“Working alongside the UK Infrastructure Bank at the heart of one of the UK’s greatest cities has already brought us benefits, both in opportunities to engage with local civic and business leaders but also in terms of the quality of staff we have attracted from around Yorkshire and beyond. We’re pleased to have found a long-term home here and look forward to continuing to grow our presence in Leeds.”

Andrew Deeley, Director of Strategy and Development, LCCC, said:

“The recent collocation with UKIB and the NIC in Leeds allows us to be at the heart of some of the greatest decarbonisation projects in Great Britain. We look forward to working with UKIB and the NIC, and getting to know this fantastic city.”

Notes to Editors

• HM Treasury is the Bank’s sponsor Government department and its sole shareholder. The Bank was set up by the Chancellor to invest in UK infrastructure projects that support the Government’s net zero targets and drive regional and local economic growth.
• For more information on the UK Infrastructure Bank, please contact Catherine Leonard and Archie Hart at: press@ukib.org.uk.
• Read our COO James Emmett's blog: Beyond bricks and mortar - the Bank's commitment to Leeds.

Signing a 15-year lease is symbolic of our commitment to Leeds and to being part of the formidable financial services ecosystem that is continuing to evolve here.

Throughout my 30-year career in financial services, I have worked in many cities, ranging from Hong Kong to New York, Istanbul to Geneva, and both London and Swindon! They all have their strengths and attractions. But what makes Leeds so brilliant as a working environment in financial services is the concentration of talent across so many key aspects– accounting, legal, consulting, audit, technology and digital - all within touching distance of each other.

You can walk 10 minutes and be ensconced in the offices of a potential partner. The opportunities for collaboration from such close physical proximity are immense.  

Add  on Leeds’ excellent academic, cultural and sporting institutions, and go-ahead local and combined authorities, and it’s unsurprising that Cabinet Minister Michael Gove recently labelled the city ‘a key economic pillar not only of the North but the United Kingdom as a whole’, while the Sunday Times called Leeds the best place to live in the north and northeast of England.

Of course, it’s a two-way relationship. If the Bank benefits from all Leeds has to offer, we should give something back.

We moved into our current short-term office space in Leeds city centre nearly three years ago and, from day one, we have been acutely aware of our responsibilities to the city we call home.

As we have recruited, we have been able to offer opportunities for career development to many highly skilled people across the West Yorkshire region, helping build up a reservoir of talent that should benefit the city region and its economy for many years to come.

And this approach has extended to our intern scheme, which will enter its third year in September, through which we offer young people a chance to gain invaluable experience across many aspects of our operations – from banking and investments, to audit and risk, to policy and communications. This can lead to employment with the Bank. We plan to extend this out to a graduate recruitment scheme soon.

Whilst we have modest offices in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and London, of our 248 permanent roles, 95% are contracted to work from our Leeds headquarters. 

The most challenging staff group to recruit to locally has been corporate and investment bankers. We’re realistic, we know the vast majority of this skillset is currently based in London.

But we are confident that, over time, we can help develop a skills base in these areas in Leeds. We have members of our Banking and Investments team who are relocating to Yorkshire to take advantage of the lifestyle and cultural benefits that Leeds brings.

And our wider functional teams include many colleagues from Leeds, West Yorkshire and the north more broadly.  Indeed, for those wanting to recruit technology and digital talent, I highly recommend Leeds, having had an overwhelmingly strong response to recent adverts for senior tech and ops roles.

We are also playing an active role in the development of the city. Noting Leeds is the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system, our local authority advisory service has supported West Yorkshire Combined Authority in exploring financial and commercial models to deliver this much needed infrastructure.  We are excited by the recent vision for Leeds published jointly by the Government, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and Leeds City Council, and the opportunities that this brings: A vision for Leeds: a decade of city centre growth and wider prosperity. Indeed, that report is the source of the Michael Gove quote earlier in this blog.

And casting the net a bit wider, we have been working with Bradford Council on its proposed Southern Gateway train station, which will also bring connectivity benefits to Leeds, provide a massive regeneration opportunity, and support economic growth in the region more widely – the point here being that we recognise the need to contribute to the wider West Yorkshire ecosystem.

To return to our impending move to office space at Whitehall Quay in Leeds, this is the next step in our evolution as we move out of our interim space, in line with our initial set-up plans which recognised we would need more space as we grew.  This new office will enable us to accommodate our colleagues now that we have clarity on our steady state business needs, and to continue our co-location with the Low Carbon Credits Company and National Infrastructure Commission.

We are really excited to be making this move. But what we are even more excited about is that the bricks and mortar will give us the foundation to play a role in the development of such a vibrant, innovative and energetic city for many years to come.

Read our news story about our office move.