Newcastle’s most prominent new office development is welcoming potential tenants for tours as the completion date draws nearer.
Bank House is now dominating the city centre skyline with more than 180 construction workers with Bowmer + Kirkland on site, carrying out works on the 14-storey, 207-foot high office scheme. Designed by Ryder Architecture, Bank House Bank House will be the first building to be completed as part of the £100m-plus development transforming Newcastle city centre.
Billionaire real estate entrepreneurs Reuben Brothers are behind the huge project to build the landmark office block, which is designed by Ryder Architecture and is set to be completed next April. In all, the office will have 120,000 sq ft of Grade A offices across 12 floors. The ground floor will comprise a 4,500 sq ft reception area, with informal breakout space and a cafe with easy access to nearby shops, restaurants and leisure amenities for the hundreds of workers who will be based there from 2023.
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Avison Young and Knight Frank have been appointed as joint letting agents for Bank House and two firms have already signed up for space, with law firm DAC Beachcroft becoming the first tenant to be announced, committing to 15,000 sqft of space across one-and-a-half floors, followed by insurer Lycetts, which will move its 105-strong Newcastle workforce into the sixth floor across 10,000 sqft of office space.
With the completion date moving closer, letting agents say more and more companies are taking advantage of the chance to get inside the building and visualise how a new base for their business could look. Firms can see potential floor plans showing how workspaces could look – as well as the views that could welcome their workers.
The top floor commands views over the whole city and beyond, looking right into St James’ Park, along Northumberland Street, across Grainger Market, Newcastle Cathedral and Grey Street, all along the River Tyne and Tyne Bridge to Baltic and Sage Gateshead. Office agents say they are not surprised at the current spike in interest, which will hopefully lead to new letting announcements soon.
Patrick Matheson, partner at Knight Frank, said: “Bank House offers the opportunity for large UK businesses to come and locate in prime offices in the heart of a city centre. The North East has a very strong skill base and its 5 universities producing high calibre graduates provide a superb platform for inward investment and north shoring projects. The quality of life and wellness has become a central factor in business decision making, particularly post-covid, and the North East has so much to offer on this front.”
Tony Wordsworth, director at Avison Young, said: “We are delighted to have attracted two professional services companies of the calibre of DAC Beachcroft and Lycetts to Bank House so early in the marketing process, completion not being due until the end of Q1 2023. Along with Knight Frank our joint letting agents we have carried out a number of viewings with some high profile businesses and there are more in the pipeline. The lack of new build supply coming into the market provides a degree of stability in the market which helps overall property and business confidence. We are confident that there will be more good news regarding the building in the coming months.”
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