The Bank of England has secured a permanent new base in central Leeds as it continues a long-term expansion designed to place more of its workforce and central-banking capability outside London.
The Bank plans to move into Capitol House in Bond Court in late 2028, replacing its existing Yorkshire House office and providing additional capacity for a workforce that already numbers just under 300 people in the city.
It has committed to having at least 500 staff based in Leeds by 2027, using a combination of recruitment and internal relocation while maintaining its overall workforce broadly at current levels.
The new premises will support central-banking functions across both Leeds and London. The Bank said the office would provide space for continued growth while enabling greater collaboration and connection with organisations across West Yorkshire.
Governor Andrew Bailey said: “The Bank’s new office in Leeds is an important milestone in our long-term commitment to the city.”
He said the move would strengthen the Bank’s presence across the UK and help the institution reflect the people, businesses, and communities it serves.
The expansion adds scale to a financial and professional-services cluster that is already one of the largest outside London. Leeds has significant concentrations of banking, insurance, accountancy, legal services, fintech, and other business services alongside a substantial university and graduate population.
The Bank’s location strategy also has an organisational rationale. Central banking requires economists, supervisors, data specialists, technologists, operational staff, and policy professionals. Recruiting across a wider geography can increase the available talent pool and reduce dependence on candidates able or willing to work in London.
The institution has maintained a presence in Leeds for almost two centuries, so the announcement is not a move into a new regional market. The material change is the scale and permanence of the modern workforce being built there.
The expansion is also intended to deepen the Bank’s links with regional economies. Its Agency network already gathers intelligence from businesses across the UK on demand, investment, employment, wages, and prices to inform monetary-policy assessments.
A larger permanent workforce gives the institution another route to build relationships outside London and to recruit staff with direct experience of regional labour markets and business conditions.
The decision comes as large employers continue to reconsider the purpose of offices after the expansion of hybrid work. Some businesses have reduced property footprints, while others have concentrated investment in fewer locations designed around collaboration and specialist teams.
The Bank’s approach combines geographic expansion with consolidation. Its Location Strategy Programme includes both the continued growth of Leeds and refurbishment of Threadneedle Street, with the London property footprint due to be consolidated by the end of 2028.
That creates a multi-city operating model rather than a simple transfer of jobs. Core functions will continue to be delivered across London and Leeds, requiring systems, management structures, and career pathways that work across both sites.
Regional financial centres benefit when large institutions locate substantive roles rather than satellite administrative functions. Senior and specialist employment can support local professional-services suppliers, widen graduate career options, and make it easier for other employers to recruit people with experience in regulated financial organisations.
West Yorkshire authorities have described the wider cluster as a “Northern Square Mile” and are seeking additional national and international financial-services investment. The Bank’s permanent expansion adds institutional weight to that strategy, although broader regional growth will depend on private-sector investment as well as public bodies.
Construction work at Capitol House is expected to begin in October ahead of the late-2028 move. The long-term lease turns the Bank’s Leeds expansion from a headcount commitment into a permanent part of its operating infrastructure.
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