A wealth management company has signed up to become the latest tenant at a new city centre office space.
Raymond James, Monument, which opened a Newcastle branch earlier this year, has signed a five-year deal to take space at Portland House, the former headquarters of Newcastle Building Society. Part of Raymond James Investment Services, the company plans to develop its investment services across the North of England and the Scottish Borders from a suite of ground floor offices totalling 1,537 sq. ft. at Portland House.
The team is led by branch principal Gary Fawcett along with wealth managers James Carrick and Rob Brotherton but hopes to increase its headcount in the coming months.
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Anthony Scott, head of business development at Raymond James Investment Services, said: “We’re very excited about the launch of Raymond James, Monument based at Portland House. It’s in an excellent, dynamic location, enabling us to support clients and drive further investment and growth across our key northern markets.”
Portland House, close to Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery, has been redeveloped by developers Oliver Holland and James Keegan after the building society moved out to consolidate its operations at the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside.
Michael Downey, director at joint letting agents Parker Knights, said: “With excellent access to the city centre, other professional services and transport links, Portland House is an ideal location for Raymond James to open for business in Newcastle. We are seeing a lot of interest from other potential tenants and while we have limited vacant space available with suites ranging from 1,800 - 9,000 sq ft, we fully expect to reach full occupancy by the end of 2023.”
Recruitment specialist Central Employment, law firms Mills & Co and Parklane Plowden Chambers and business advisory firm Begbies Traynor are among those to have moved into Portland House since its renovation.
The redevelopment of the office has aimed to promote productivity, sustainability and wellbeing with features that include bookable meeting rooms, ‘living wall’ installations, storage lockers, showers with hairdryers and vanity stations and changing facilities. The redevelopment also focussed on adding green and wellness features including biophilic installations, carbon neutral flooring, basement parking with electric car charging stations, e-bike chargers and a bike repair unit to help with safer commutes.
