Equifax move adds weight to finance sector

LEEDS' financial services sector has celebrated claiming another scalp, with the official opening of Equifax's new offices at 6 Wellington Place.
Richard Smith, Chairman and CEO at Equifax (left) and Tom Riordan, Chief Executive at Leeds City CouncilRichard Smith, Chairman and CEO at Equifax (left) and Tom Riordan, Chief Executive at Leeds City Council
Richard Smith, Chairman and CEO at Equifax (left) and Tom Riordan, Chief Executive at Leeds City Council

The US-based consumer credit scoring multinational has moved its entire Bradford operation nine miles east to the brand new development, which it intends to use as a springboard for further growth.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony, Tom Riordan, chief executive of Leeds City Council, welcomed the transfer of 200 more employees to the city.

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“This is really important for the expansion of the business district in Leeds because it’s bringing really good quality jobs,” he said.

“We’ve got big ambitions to be the UK data city, and we’ve already got Callcredit and now Equifax. There’s also TPP and EMIS, both big healthcare technology firms, so we’ve made a fantastic start on this. This is really good news for Leeds.”

Built by MEPC, the five-storey building at 6 Wellington Place was the first speculative grade-A office block to have been constructed in Leeds for more than six years and further develops the brownfield wedge of land west of the railway station and north of the river that is already home to Sky Betting and Gaming.

Darrell Abbondanza, Equifax’s HR director for Europe, said: “This is a major hub for the technology side of the business and it’s now our largest facility in the UK.

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“We’ve purposely taken additional space here – this wasn’t just a lift-and-drop – because we wanted the new offices to have some flex and scalability. There’s space for at least 50 more people on this [first] floor alone.”

“We moved to Leeds for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s a great environment to build a talent base. Data analytics are at the heart of our business, and this is a fantastic base for us to do that. Also, if we’d moved to a different city somewhere else in the UK it would have been really difficult for us to retain our existing talent base. And its transport links are good; it’s relatively easy to get into London and, from there, up to Leeds. All in all, it’s a fantastic opportunity for Equifax to be in a great UK city with great access to talent and it will allow us to continue the growth trajectory that we’re on.”

The facilities at the new development are a far cry from the sector’s traditional office-block style, and have been modelled on Equifax’s large Madrid office.

“Madrid was the first office to get the employee engagement going,” said Mr Abbondanza. “So you’ll find a lot more collaborative spaces here, and the whole facility is wireless, so you can take your laptop and sit anywhere you like. Senior people don’t even have their own offices, although there are meeting rooms they can book if they need to.

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“We’ve got a gym, five-a-side soccer field, fitness bootcamps with personal trainers, showers, lockable cycle storage and there’ll be retail units downstairs too. Not chains, but independents, hopefully – Wellington Place is all about supporting local businesses.”

According to Mr Abbondanza, it has invested very heavily in biometrics and face recognition, and has partnered with Auburn University, in Alabama, “to bring in fresh new millennial talent to our cyber security capability”.

It has launched the Equifax Watchlist Check, which it has developed with BAE Systems, to help companies fight money laundering and terrorist financing.