PEXA has announced it has chosen 114 Wellington Street in West Village, Leeds, for its new UK headquarters. PEXA will collaborate with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority as it sets up its new headquarters and prepares to invest in the region and its workforce.
West Village – developed by Bruntwood as part of the £200m Bruntwood Works Pioneer programme – is a new workspace in Leeds. With the site due to open in Autumn 2023, PEXA, a world-leading technology provider, has taken more than 8,100 sq ft at the newly transformed development.
PEXA and Optima staff are expected to be working there by December 2023. They chose West Village for its “proximity to local transport links and its modern aesthetic, which is suited to a hybrid working environment”.
They have been advised and supported throughout the process by Charles Parkinson from CBRE’s Advisory & Transaction Occupier team in Leeds.
PEXA Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Glenn King inspected the site on Monday 19th June, along with the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin; PEXA UK Chief Operating Officer, Simon Wright; and Optima Legal Managing Director, Tom Trevorrow.
King stated:
“We are delighted to announce West Village as our new UK headquarters. Leeds is a key strategic location for PEXA, and its spirit of innovation and collaboration matches that of our business.”
Wright added that the “The fit-out will ensure our people can adapt the space as they choose, instilling a sense of pride in their place of work”.
PEXA launched into the UK last year, seeking to transform the UK’s 150-year-old conveyancing process, enabling digital remortgage transactions to streamline the process.
Following the acquisition of Optima Legal in 2022, PEXA has become a significant employer in Yorkshire, with 65% of PEXA’s 380 UK employees based in Leeds and around the region.
The company’s expansion into the UK market follows its success in Australia, where it has facilitated over 15 million property transactions worth circa AUD $2 trillion.
King added:
“The region already has a vibrant financial services and tech scene, supportive local government, and great universities. Simply put, it is the natural base from which we will grow and support our workforce around the country. We have ambitious plans to transform the UK’s property market for the better, and investing in our offices, technology and people in Leeds and Yorkshire is central to executing those plans.”
Trevorrow continued:
“We have had tremendous support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to date, and we look forward to working with them closely as we select a new site for all our operations in the UK, including Optima Legal, and building closer ties with the city.”
