Search Laboratory prepares for growth with milestone office deal

The deal to let the newly-refurbished five-story Blokhaus building near Horsforth marks Leeds’ largest out-of-town office deal of 2014, property firm Rushbond said.

Blokhaus, based in West Park on Leeds’ Outer Ring Road, includes 12,000 sq ft of open plan office space on the ground floor. It also has an additional four floors of flexible space above.

Global digital marketing agency Search has grown to a team of 180 across sites in Shadwell, Chapel Allerton, London and New York. Both Leeds offices will merge at Blokhaus in the coming weeks.

The company, which specialises in pay-per-click, search engine optimisation and website analytics, now works with more than 250 clients across 18 countries after launching in 2005.

Ian Harris, chief executive and founder of Search Laboratory, said Rushbond’s understanding of the company’s “flexible approach” helped to create a building that suited its needs.

He said: “It will be fantastic to have our entire Leeds team all under one roof in a superb building that is flooded with natural light and features a modern interior and design style that creates an inspirational working environment. “It’s also ideally located, with great road access and is close to Leeds Bradford Airport which is important as we continually expand our global credentials with an increasing number of international clients.”

Richard Baker of Rushbond, says: “The fact this is the biggest out-of-town office deal in Leeds this year is great news for the region’s office market as a whole.

“Blokhaus has been a key asset in Rushbond’s portfolio for more than 15 years and its prominence and location have always made it a highly sought after building.”

“There’s no doubt it will give the Search Laboratory team the ideal platform to embark on their next phase of growth,” he added.