Bruntwood, the family owned commercial property company with offices in the North and Midlands, has today agreed the 45,000 sq ft letting of Hepworth Point, which has been acquired by WSB Property Consultants LLP on behalf of Whitbread Plc.

Planning permission has recently been secured to convert the 10-storey building into a 131-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, which is scheduled to open to the public in Spring 2012 and will create approximately 50 new jobs.

Hepworth Point, which is situated on Clay Pit Lane, at the northern edge of Leeds city centre, stands opposite the Leeds Arena development, which is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2013.

Bruntwood’s head of sales and development Craig Burrow commented: “Hepworth Point was initially designed as a hotel, but never used as one. We have been an active participant in the Leeds Arena master planning and we feel this is a great opportunity to return the building to its originally intended use.”

Hepworth Point was originally designed by architect John Poulson and famously became home to the Next retail group in Leeds. Poulson also designed City House, a recent 120,000 sq ft Bruntwood acquisition, where redevelopment plans have recently been revealed for the landmark building situated directly above the train station.

Mr Burrow also commented: “As an active developer in Leeds, we remain committed to expanding our presence in the city and we’ve recently submitted a planning application for our development at City House. We’re now actively seeking potential acquisition opportunities within the city, as our customers continue to respond positively to the Bruntwood way of doing business here.”

Kevin Murray, senior acquisition manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “We are excited about our new plans for bringing Premier Inn to Hepworth Point. It’s an outstanding development and an ideal location for a hotel, with great access to the university, hospital and new Leeds Arena. It’s good news for Premier Inn that we’re part of it and good news for our customers.”