City Mayor Visits Leicester’s £13.3m Pilot House Redevelopment

Henry Brothers has welcomed Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to its current project at Pilot House, as works progress on the redevelopment of the historic site in Leicester city centre.

The £13.3 million project will transform the former factory buildings into a vibrant space that will contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of the city.

During his visit, the City Mayor toured the site, where he met members of the Henry Brothers team and saw how work on site is progressing.

Ian Taylor, Managing Director at Henry Brothers Construction, said:

“We were honoured to have Sir Peter visit us on site at Pilot House. This is a significant project for the city of Leicester and one that Henry Brothers is proud to be involved with."

“At Henry Brothers, our mission is to deliver the best construction solution we possibly can for every client, every time, without fail. With this in mind, our works at Pilot House respect the heritage of the building while providing contemporary facilities that meet the needs of the community."

“Henry Brothers is pleased to contribute to Leicester’s ongoing development and to support the city’s growth and innovation.”

The redevelopment of Pilot House includes the creation of modern workspaces and a central business community hub, comprising café, exhibition and event space, as well as a reception area and space for outdoor working. The scheme has been designed to create a permanent base for the city’s creative and design businesses of varying sizes.

It is supported by £8.6m from the previous Government’s Levelling Up Fund, with the city council contributing £4.7m towards the £13.3m scheme.

City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said:

“The redevelopment of Pilot House will transform a group of architecturally-significant heritage buildings into an important new creative hub for Leicester."

“Not only will it contribute to the wider regeneration of the Belvoir Street, Market Street and New Walk areas, and complement developments like the Gresham Building, it will also create hundreds of high quality new jobs."

“Our contractors, Henry Brothers, are preserving the buildings’ heritage features, while creating a functional and inviting contemporary space, and it is fantastic to see this transformation taking shape."

“I look forward to the completion of the project and seeing the positive impact this development will have on our city.”

The five separate but interconnected buildings will be transformed into 60,000sqft of high-quality accommodation for start-up and growing businesses that will support more than 250 new jobs.

When tenants move in – from summer 2025 – they’ll find meeting and conference facilities, a café and kitchen, a courtyard to the rear and a range of workspaces, including a co-working lounge for creative tech and digital businesses.