Burberry announces new Business Services centre in Leeds

Global fashion brand Burberry has announced its intention to open a new office in Leeds, strengthening its ties with the Leeds City Region and Yorkshire.

Subject to consultation with employees, the office, which will open in October, will bring together UK and EMEIA shared service teams from Finance, HR and Procurement, as well as some Customer Service and IT roles.

Creating a centre of excellence for these teams will make Burberry more productive and efficient by simplifying processes and fostering teamwork across functions. Moving roles to Leeds will also generate significant savings for the business by allowing Burberry to reduce its office space requirements in London where the company will remain headquartered.

It is expected that about 300 roles will transfer to Leeds.

Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer of Burberry Group plc, commented:

“This is an important move for Burberry as we continue to deliver on the strategic priorities we outlined last year. In addition to the benefits it will bring to the business, opening an office in Leeds reinforces our commitment to the UK and to Yorkshire, home of our iconic trench coat.”

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which worked with Burberry to support the business case for this new office, added:

“It’s fantastic to see Burberry commit its future to the City Region and recognise the strength of our professional services offer and our heritage within the textiles industry. I’m delighted that the LEP were able to work closely with one of the world’s most recognisable brands to ensure it selected the region as the location for its new centre of excellence for business services.

“Today’s announcement comes as our City Region is seeing increased levels of interest from FTSE 100 companies who see benefits such as increased productivity as a result of relocating here.

“I look forward to working with Burberry in the future and further developing our longstanding relationship with this British icon!”

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, concluded:

“This is fantastic news and a real vote of confidence in Leeds as a place to do business. It’s hugely exciting that we are the clear choice for Burberry to locate their newly-created shared service centre. It is testament to the value of Leeds as a destination for financial and professional services with the right infrastructure of skills, innovation and digital excellence to support that.”

“We have a long and valued relationship with Burberry and will continue to work with them constructively as they continue to assess their plans for a manufacturing and weaving facility here.”

Image: Burberry Group plc