PwC move into £35m Bradford office development

PwC has moved all 179 of its staff into the new offices in City Park

When Armoghan Mohammed first came to Bradford as a child it was to watch Bollywood films with his parents.

Now the 58-year-old is a getting a different kind of visual treat standing on the balcony of the new offices of 'Big Four" accountancy firm PwC.

The company has just moved its Bradford team the short distance from their old base in Godwin Street to the £35 million One City Park development.

For Mr Mohammed, PwC's regional chair for the North, it is a statement of intent for both the company and the city, saying: "We think this is Bradford's time and we want to part of that."

PwC has taken over two floors in the £35 million office block

"I started coming to Bradford in the early 70s with my mum and dad," he tells me.

"We'd come to the cinema here and watch very long Bollywood movies and I'd sit between them.

"Since then we've just had a great affinity with Bradford, we just keep coming back for one reason or another."

When the lease came up on PwC's existing offices it was seen as an ideal time to move its 179 staff, just in time for next year's City of Culture celebrations.

Originally from Huddersfield, Mr Mohammed said: "The more we got to know Bradford, the more we got to know the people, the opportunities here.

"We just felt that, actually, if you look at all the change coming down the tracks we think this is Bradford's time and we want to part of that journey as it grows."

Jayne Child and Armoghan Mohammed hope to encourage people from West Yorkshire to build a career with the firm

One City Park has been built by the council with developer Muse and direct support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.

It is on the site of the former Tyrls Police Station, which had stood vacant since 2007 before being demolished in 2015 to make way for a new city centre business district.

PwC, which came to Bradford in 2019, has taken two of the development's five floors and hopes to eventually expand its workforce to 500.

Mr Mohammed said the firm had signed a 15-year lease and praised Bradford Council for its role in creating the Grade A office space.

"It's a world-class facility; the technology is amazing. I'm really excited," he said.

"I'd like to be in a position where in six months time we say 'that was amazing and we've been the victim of our own success, there are so many people that we're going to have to take another floor'.

"I'd love to be in that position. So it's very, very exciting on multiple levels."

The offices include a contemplation area and wash room for Muslim prayer

Jayne Child is a senior manager with the firm and originally from Leeds, although she's worked for the bulk of her career in Bradford.

She said: "We are investing in our people. So we are investing in the people of Bradford.

"It's important they realise that they don't have to go to the other surrounding cities; they don't need to go to Manchester, they don't need to go to Leeds.

"Look at what's here in Bradford now and I think that's what we're showcasing."