A HOUSING and care firm for the over 55s has increased its presence in Bradford city centre with a £1.5 million office move.

Anchor, which offers retirement properties and specialist care homes at more than 1,000 locations across the country, has taken 40,000 sq ft over three floors at Aldermanbury House, the former home of travel company Thomas Cook.

The move, which will see Anchor relocate from its premises at Ambler Mill and Milestone Place in Bradford, is a further boost for the city centre.

Property consultancy company GVA surveyed Anchor staff on what kind of office space and facilities they wanted, workspace consultancy and space planning, before identifying a list of potential locations in the city.

All 320 staff at Anchor will move into their new base by the end of the year after the space has been comprehensively refurbished, project managed and designed by GVA’s building consultancy team.

Anchor is England's largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for the over-55s. It offers services to more than 35,000 older people.

Dominic Hayes, its director of development and property, said: “Anchor’s employees have worked in our two offices in Bradford for many years and the city still remains a great location for our main office in the north of England.

"Bradford provides us with some great people, offers good value for money with competitively priced rents and allows easy access to the main travel networks.

"We also have many care homes and retirement housing schemes in this part of Yorkshire so it made sense to increase our presence in the city.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's executive member for employment, skills and culture, described the move as "great news".

"Anchor is one of the largest charities in the UK and therefore a great investor to have in Bradford," she said.

"It's a competitive market to secure such a high profile employer and therefore I'm really pleased that Bradford has been chosen over other cities.

"Bradford Council's City Centre Growth Zone team has been supporting Anchor to access the business rate incentive which is unique to Bradford.

"It all helps secure long-term investment and jobs in the city."

Matthew Tootell, director of office agency at the Yorkshire office of GVA, said: “Anchor is currently housed in two separate buildings in Bradford.

"This move to a landmark building will facilitate bringing both offices ‘under one roof’ in modern office accommodation which will offer its employees’ the benefit of being based more centrally in the city including proximity to transport links, shops and other city centre facilities.

“Bradford’s outlook is bright with a number of transactions having been completed or in the pipeline and we’re delighted to have helped Anchor both remain in the city and plan for growth.”