Channel 4’s plan to open its national headquarters in Leeds is a “huge step” in the growth of media across both the city and the north of England, the industry has said after the broadcaster’s announcement on Wednesday.
The broadcaster, which chose the West Yorkshire city over Birmingham and Manchester, will also open two smaller “creative hubs” in Bristol and Glasgow.
The three cities will be home to 300 Channel 4 jobs when the offices are fully established, and will play a part in its goal to spend £250m more on regional content.
Channel 4 is understood to be looking for about 25,000 sq ft of office space in Leeds, enough for a team of 200. However, it has kept quiet about further requirements.
Considering the size of the requirement, the deal will not move the dial significantly on Leeds’ office take-up, but the industry in the city sees it as the start of a bigger media movement.
Jeff Pearey, lead director for Yorkshire and the North East at JLL, said: “This announcement is a huge step forward for Leeds and the city region, especially for the future of digital and media industries already present in the city.
“As a major inward investor, Channel 4 will be openly welcomed into the city and we are confident this will be the beginning of a continued growth in the sector.”
Channel 4 said that although each of the shortlisted cities gave “exceptionally high quality pitches”, Leeds put forward “a compelling and ambitious strategy” to support growth in the production and creative industries.
It added that the city, already home to a strong digital industry and talent pool, is well-positioned to capitalise on growing production sectors across the north of England, with links stretching from Liverpool in the west to Hull in the east.
Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, said: “We undertook a rigorous process in the past seven months and the high calibre of all the pitches meant those were incredibly difficult decisions to make.
“However, I know that Leeds, Bristol and Glasgow will best deliver our objectives to grow the production sector across the UK, build the pipeline of creative talent outside London and support our increased investment in programming produced across the nations and regions.”
In Birmingham, the announcement was met with disappointment, with some saying it is a lost opportunity to bring another element to the city’s occupier base.
Charles Toogood, senior director and head of the national offices team at GVA, said; “Clearly, you look back at the hype around Birmingham now and it was nothing other than hot air and Birmingham feeling quite confident about life.
“Birmingham has had more of its fair share of inward investment, from PwC to WeWork and HMRC, so the fact that it has lost one is not the end of the world.
“I am disappointed as it would have been a great coup. It is a household name and it is easier to attract professional financial services groups than media.”
The industry in Manchester seemed to take a more optimistic view of the announcement.
Speaking off the record, one of the city’s agents said that although Channel 4 would have been a strong name to add to the area’s growing list of media occupiers – including BBC, ITV and production company Farm Group – it was not a major loss considering the size of the requirement.
Others, such as Colliers International’s Dominic Pozzoni, saw it as something of a victory.
Pozzoni said: “It’s great news for the Northern Powerhouse, reinforcing the appeal of the North, home to more than 15 million people – nearly a quarter of the UK’s population, half of the UK’s major cities and almost 30 universities.”
He added that the relocation would help maintain momentum in the economic development of the region. Channel 4’s move would hopefully give the North more visibility on a national level, which would boost not only the Leeds market, but the surrounding cities as well.
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