Latest News
A national award-winning Yorkshire brewery is the first new commercial letting at the transformed Granary Wharf development, which has undergone a £40 million facelift at the hands of ISIS Waterside Regeneration.
Ossett Brewery has chosen the 2,500 sq foot unit in two of the development’s existing railway arches as the location of its first Leeds venture. The space will be transformed into a brand new bar called The Hop due to open in March 2010. The Hop, Leeds, follows the fantastic success of its first ‘Hop’ site in Wakefield, which combines real ale and live music in a city centre environment.
The brewery was founded in 1997 by ex-Tetley Leeds brewer Bob Lawson, now company Chairman. The company is currently run by his son Jamie and ex-Virgin Japan MD, Mike Inman. The brewery has thirteen existing real ale pubs across West Yorkshire, but The Hop is a new concept based around locally brewed beers and live music. The initiative sees the company teaming up with Mike Heaton, drummer from Yorkshire indie band Embrace.
ISIS Waterside Regeneration is keen to attract independent retailers like Ossett Brewery, which are searching for a unique place to trade in Leeds, and invite more individual retail and leisure companies to make the waterside development their home.
Commented Jamie Lawson, from Ossett Brewery: “Granary Wharf has a perfect blend of modern building design and historic Leeds architecture which includes the old station arches and the picturesque canal wharf. We could think of no better relaxing environment to enjoy real ales and listen to locally sourced bands.”
The new letting is a welcome addition to the food and drink scene at Granary Wharf which already includes the development’s well-established local Japanese eatery, Wasabi Teppan-Yaki, which continued trading throughout building work on site over the last 3 years and the restaurant and bars available at Leeds’ newest hotel, City Inn. These venues, along with the flow of visitors to the hotel and the new residents of Waterman’s Place, have created a buzzing community at the development and further established Granary Wharf as a destination for visitors and businesses alike.
Added Mike Finkill, Director at ISIS: “It is great to be able to announce our first new letting before the end of 2009, a year which has been difficult for many developers across the region and in which Granary Wharf has been one of few developments to complete. Ossett Brewery is a great addition and is exactly the type of independent business we’re hoping to attract to the area. Our commercial space offers exciting opportunities for businesses that can’t afford to be in city high streets but that still want to be close to office workers at the heart of city life. The range of smaller units and railway arches provide a really good choice of business locations.”
There is a total of 14,900 sq ft of redeveloped retail space available at the development which includes the ground floor of the newly completed residential building, Waterman’s Place, and the cylindrical Candle House which is due to launch early 2010, in addition to some of the existing original railway arches. All spaces provide outside seating to maximise the southern aspect and waterside location. BNP Paribas Real Estate and Creative Space Management are instructed as joint agents on the scheme.
Any retailers moving to the area will benefit not only from the residents on their doorstep at Waterman’s Place which has seen more than two-thirds of the 122 apartments already sold or reserved, and Candle House, but from the additional 2,000 people living within five minutes of Granary Wharf and a further 20,000 workers within the same proximity.
Granary Wharf will also benefit from a long anticipated new southern exit from Leeds railway station which is due to open in 2012, which will draw a significant number of the 100,000 commuters who use the station on a daily basis will flow through the Wharf.
