Leicester Mercury

Office block gets first tenant

CITY BUSINESS RELOCATING

- By TOM PEGDEN tom.pegden@reachplc.com @tompegden TO GREAT CENTRAL SQUARE

THE first tenant is moving into Leicester’s newest grade A office block – two years after it was completed.

Europcar will shift its UK head office from Welford Road in the city to No 1 Great Central Square, on the inner ring road.

It is taking the first and second floors of the 33,000 sq ft, £7.3 million block.

The offices are part of a £50 million redevelopm­ent of the area, which has included a 10-storey Novotel and a six-storey Adagio aparthotel.

The former Great Central Railway building, which was also brought back into use, has been turned into a Lane7 bowling complex.

The five-acre developmen­t, pictured as an artist’s impression, has been funded by Charles Street Buildings Group with the masterplan designed by Stephen George + Partners.

The five-storey office’s V shape creates space for a public square leading on to the former railway station.

The Europcar deal was secured by APB (Leicester) LLP and M1 Agency, which said conversati­ons were continuing with potential tenants for the third and fourth floors.

Europcar has been based in the city for 35 years.

Joseph Murphy, director at

Charles Street Buildings, said: “We’re delighted Europcar will be relocating its UK headquarte­rs to No 1 Great Central Square, joining several other internatio­nally-recognised brands on the developmen­t.

“At a time when high-quality office space is at a premium, Europcar’s commitment to continuing its connection to Leicester city centre is a great show of confidence in the city as we begin to recover from the impact of the past 18 months.”

Ron Santiago, managing director of Europcar Mobility Group UK, said: “The Europcar business has had a long affiliatio­n with Leicester.

“It therefore made sense for our colleagues that work out of our UK headquarte­rs and our business as a whole to remain in the area.”

Reg Pollock, partner at APB Leicester, said: “Bringing Europcar into the Great Central Square developmen­t illustrate­s that the demand for grade A office space remains strong, and we’re seeing sustained interest in truly quality workspaces.

“The team at Europcar have been great to work with throughout, and we’re looking forward to them moving into the space.”

Toby Wilson, of M1 Agency, said: “We are delighted to work alongside and welcome a high-profile name in Europcar to the building and to retain their personnel in the city.

“In doing this, Charles Street Buildings should be congratula­ted for having the confidence to speculativ­ely develop out the offices as part of the wider Great Central scheme and to deliver muchneeded newbuild grade A office space into Leicester.

“This letting alongside the hotels and leisure offering will now provide the catalyst for Charles Street Buildings to bring forward the second phase of the developmen­t and regenerati­on of the wider area.”

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