Church of England Yorkshire diocese acquires Leeds office building

L-R:Matthew Tootell, director and head of office agency at Bilfinger GVA and Steven Jones, associate director and head of agency at Eddisons outside 17-19 York Place

It now plans to relocate its resource team to the property on York Place, which will also provide more than £80,000 rental income from existing tenants.

Property consultant Eddisons acquired 17-19 York Place on behalf of the Church diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.

The self-contained four-storey building - comprised of three Georgian townhouses - offers 17,590 sq ft office space plus parking and was purchased on a freehold basis.

Property developer Moorgarth and construction consultancy Mace, who currently occupy part of the ground floor and first floor of the building, will continue as tenants, providing annual rental income of £82,660 for the Church.

The diocese resource team will occupy the remaining 10,000 sq ft of floor area, enabling its administrative team to relocate to one central location from East Leeds, Wakefield, Steeton and Harrogate. A church drop in centre is being considered for the ground floor.

Billfinger GVA, acting on behalf of owners LPA Receivers, also received interest from London and the North West following a national marketing campaign. The diocese secured the property following two rounds of sealed bids.

Steven Jones, associate director and head of agency at Eddisons Leeds, said the diocese had “very clear criteria” for its search.

He said: “It is rare to find an office building in the central business district that precisely meets a client’s freehold requirements, but York Place really stood out above all the other properties we looked at and offered the diocese everything they were looking for.”