Network Rail starts £40m Leeds office redevelopment
The government agency is leading the refurbishment of Princes Exchange, a seven-storey building next to Leeds City station which it acquired in 2024, with headline rents of £55 per sq ft anticipated.
The project is set to deliver more than 111,000 sq ft of grade A workspace and is being spearheaded by Network Rail and its property development arm Platform4.
Main contractor Willmott Dixon is delivering the works, which are due to complete in Q3 next year.
Network Rail plans to occupy three floors of the building, creating a Rail Industry Hub for colleagues currently based at Leeds station.
The remaining five floors, spanning levels three to seven, will be refurbished to CAT A specification and brought to the commercial market, with space expected to be ready for occupation in mid-2027.
The refurbishment is targeting an EPC A rating and BREEAM Excellent, Fitwel, and WiredScore accreditation.
Works will include refurbishment of the building’s external façade, including replacement glazing, alongside improvements to the surrounding public realm and the main entrance.
A new ground-floor reception will incorporate a business lounge and café, while the basement will provide cycle storage and other amenity facilities, including a fitness studio.
The project forms part of Network Rail’s plans to consolidate its rail industry colleagues in Leeds into a single location.
Eamon Fox, head of the Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank, which is marketing the property alongside JLL, explained that Princes Exchange was one of the most exciting prime office buildings in the city’s commercial property pipeline: “Works have started, the strip out is complete, and Wilmott Dixon our appointed main contractor is moving at speed with the works.
“The planned works will elevate the building to best in class and will be ready for occupiers from Q3 2027.
“Princes Exchange occupies a truly unrivalled position, in a super prime micro market where demand, visibility, and connectivity converge.
“The defining character of the grade A office market in Leeds in the post-Covid years has been the imbalance between supply and demand, with the latter far outstripping the former.
“The completion of the redevelopment of Princes Exchange will address this imbalance and satisfy the pent-up demand for quality office space in Leeds.
“Princes Exchange is in the heart of Leeds’ professional core, with high-profile occupiers nearby including , DLA, Deloitte, Markel, Grant Thornton, Pinsents and Knights.
“While we have ample workspace available to accommodate requirements, we anticipate announcing our first occupier next month. Interest to date has been dominated by professional services organisations, where the workplace is viewed as a strategic tool to attract, retain, and inspire the very best talent.
“We are quoting rents of £55 per sq ft. These are exciting times for the prime Leeds office market with supply finally catching up
with demand.
“Princes Exchange, together with Prescient’s 31 Wellington Street, and Rushbond’s Bank House is at the vanguard of this positive trend and I expect to see some high-profile office deals in the coming months.”
Andy Curran of Network Rail Property commented: “This is a hugely exciting project for Network Rail and one we’re incredibly proud to be delivering. Princes Exchange will provide exceptional, best-in-class workspace and set a new benchmark for office accommodation in Leeds.
“We’re looking forward to working with Knight Frank and JLL to welcome commercial occupiers to the building”.
Andrew Ferguson, interim chief executive at Platform4 added: “Taking a strategic view of railway land and identifying the best way to unlock it to enable growth is exactly why Platform4 exists.
“Delivering this asset will bring more opportunities to the region, and with its best-in-class facilities and workspaces, Princes Exchange is set to attract the very best.”
