Pictured above: Colton Street

A significant office building in Leicester city centre is fully occupied following the decision by nationwide training and development firm Rathbone Training to expand its operations within the region.

National commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) negotiated the five year lease for the remaining space at 2-4 Colton Street on behalf of the landlord Leicester Colton Ltd.

The deal, which was completed earlier this month, will see the firm double the amount of office space it occupies in the city centre, to more than 7,500 sq ft over the second and third floors.

Glenda Symmonds at Rathbone Training said: "We are delighted to be expanding in Leicester. 2-4 Colton Street is ideally located within walking distance of the city centre, providing staff and the Young People alike with easy access to local amenities, and public transport links.

"These new premises will allow Rathbone Training the ability to offer practical based courses with a purpose built kitchen and café providing the real work experience that young people need. We will be offering a range of Hospitality & Catering learning including Ethnic Cuisine which is greatly needed in Leicester. With Chef's soon to be removed from the Skills Shortage Occupation list we need to ensure that we are providing our local business with young people that have the relevant skills that employers need for their businesses to succeed.  There will be a variety of other courses and apprenticeships available including: Retail, Customer Service, Early Years Care, Business Administration plus a number of other qualifications including Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Health & Safety and Employability Skills to name just a few."

David Van Beveren, Managing Director of Leicester Colton, said: "We recognise the valuable contribution training organisations have made to Leicester's economy and we will be looking to provide further quality buildings for this important sector."

The building underwent a major refurbishment programme in 2007 to provide 15,358 sq ft of prime office space set over four floors.  Since then, it has proved attractive to a host of training and development-based firms, including Talent 4 Life, which occupies 3,751 sq ft on the first floor - where they have established a full OFSTED Registered Nursery along with child care training provisions - and Skills for Enterprise, which occupies 3,858 sq ft on the fourth floor.

David added: "We have been extremely impressed with LSH's management of the building, in particular ensuring that it met all performance criteria with minimum disruption and cost."

Jane Taylor, Head of Office Agency at LSH's Leicester office, said: "We are extremely pleased to have completed this agreement on the final space at 2-4 Colton Street in a challenging market. The refurbishment work undertaken at the property, as well as the significant development which has taken place within the surrounding area, is transforming this cultural quarter of Leicester city centre; creating multiple new employment opportunities and raising its profile of as a hub for training and development firms, which have proved vital in sustaining the city's economic success."

For more information on Lambert Smith Hampton please visit their website here: www.lsh.co.uk