• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

Lookers eyeing up growth with office move

AFTER more than a decade of growth, Lookers Group Fleet division has now re-located to a new 4,300 sq ft head office in the popular Team Valley trading estate, as it looks to expand its offering into the growing market for personal car and van leasing.

Previously based at Mayflower House on Team Valley, the move to a new base in the recently modernised Maingate Building will provide the 20 strong team with a more welcoming space for customers, both business and private, to come and discuss their transport requirements with leading experts.

The redevelopment of the building has been carried out by UK Land Estates, the largest commercial property investment and development company in the North East.

Carried out over three months, UK Land Estates has transformed what was previously a retail banking hall into fully fitted Grade A office space.

The relocation is part of a move to expand the services and products at Lookers fleet sales division, which is part of parent group Lookers PLC. In addition to moving to a more prominent location on the Team Valley, recent investment has also seen the creation of a brand-new website that emphasises Lookers Leasing as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for car leasing.

Jason Smith, head of fleet operations at Lookers PLC, said: “The growth we’ve enjoyed in the last decade has been fantastic and something we couldn’t have envisaged when we first moved to the Team Valley.

“This move to the Maingate building will give us much greater visibility, a welcoming space for our customers, as well as putting us right at the centre of one of the largest trading estates in Europe.

“UK Land Estates has been integral in facilitating the move and, given the relationship we’ve developed with the team over the years, we’re looking forward to them being by our side as we continue to grow our reach across the region and beyond.”

David Gibbs, commercial director at UK Land Estates, said: “Our ambition is to drive economic growth in the region and we do this by continually investing in the buildings and surrounding areas across our portfolio of key estates, so that we can attract and retain the best businesses, retailers and entrepreneurs.

“The Maingate development is a key example of this and we are delighted that a national business has taken up residence in the building.

“Providing our tenants with turnkey office solutions is becoming increasingly popular and helps companies such as Lookers PLC occupy premises quickly and efficiently, without having to undertake any of the upfront renovation work and associated costs themselves.”

Lookers PLC will be joining neighbouring business Churchill Security Solutions, who have also recently moved into the redeveloped office space.

Conveniently located off the A1, Team Valley is home to roughly 700 businesses, employing more than 20,000 people across many industries, from the skilled and manual service trade, to high end manufacturing and professional services.