Advice on new Leeds base and five branches enables Gordons and the Yorkshire to keep admiration mutual

Wednesday 29th May 2013

Advice from Yorkshire law firm Gordons has been instrumental in enabling Yorkshire Building Society to announce plans to expand into new offices in Leeds.

A team led by commercial property partner Nick Chamberlain helped the mutual to secure three floors of the Broad Gate development on The Headrow, which will house around 800 colleagues.

The Leeds city centre deal provided the culmination of an 18-month period which had also seen Mr Chamberlain and his colleagues advise the Yorkshire on five new branch openings in its home county.

Gordons’ experts undertook work such as preparing agreements for lease, negotiating leases and carrying out due diligence for the organisation’s new branches in Pudsey, Ilkley, Malton and Ripon, plus the relocation of its Harrogate branch.

The law firm’s relationship with Yorkshire Building Society extends over two decades. Highlights of Gordons’ work have included handling the sale of the former Chelsea Building Society head office in Cheltenham, after that organisation merged with its client in 2010.

Mike Staniland, estates manager, Yorkshire Building Society, said: “We had no hesitation in turning to Gordons for advice on the Broad Gate building and our new branches, as we’ve always been very pleased with the service they’ve provided. I have found them to be professional and efficient, and they always turn work around quickly.”

Yorkshire Building Society now has around 4,100 staff, more than 3.5 million members and assets of about £33.5bn. Its branch network has grown from 135 in 2008 to 230 today, in part through its mergers with Barnsley and Norwich & Peterborough building societies, in addition to the Chelsea.

The society posted strong annual results earlier this year and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its high street network, giving wider choice to people looking for a mutual alternative to banks in their own communities.