Sharp Leeds headquarters opens as firm makes city its UK home

The technology firm, part of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, has opened a 10,200 sq ft UK HQ in Leeds’ South Central. Already home to nearly 100 staff it’s a vote of confidence in the city’s tech sector.

Technology firm Sharp has chosen Leeds for its UK headquarters, opening a 10,200 sq ft flagship office in the city’s South Central building. The new Sharp Leeds headquarters is already home to nearly 100 of the company’s 700-plus UK employees, and is designed as a ‘living showroom’ where clients can try its workplace technology in a real setting. Part of the global Sharp Corporation, which employs more than 34,000 people worldwide, the firm said the move reflects its next phase of UK growth and its confidence in Leeds as a tech hub.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Sharp choosing Leeds is a real signal, a global technology brand choosing Leeds for its UK base says the city’s pitch as a tech hub is landing. For Leeds, it means more skilled jobs, a showcase that brings Sharp into the city and another name to point to when courting the next employer.

Inside the Sharp Leeds headquarters

The office, in the South Central building, brings together Sharp’s IT services, business applications, managed print, audio-visual and display, and workplace design teams under one roof – one of 14 Sharp sites across the UK. As a showroom it features a 195-inch LED video wall and a range of the firm’s latest display and meeting-room technology, created with Leeds commercial design specialist Design Tonic. The opening comes as Leeds cements its reputation as a northern tech centre. According to figures cited by the company, the city has the third-largest concentration of high-growth firms in the UK outside London, and a tech sector growing far faster than the national average.

“The opening of our Leeds headquarters represents much more than a new office. It reflects the transformation of Sharp into a truly integrated technology partner. Over the last year we have brought together new capabilities, integrating our Display businesses, accelerating growth in Business Applications and AI, and continuing to invest in IT Services, Managed Print and Workplace Solutions. This headquarters brings those capabilities together in one place.”

— Stuart Sykes, CEO, Sharp UK

A vote of confidence in Leeds

The choice adds the Sharp Leeds headquarters to a growing roster of major employers basing operations in the city, alongside the likes of Channel 4 and the Bank of England. Sharp said access to the city’s universities and talent was central to the decision, and that it expects to keep hiring locally as the business grows. Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds South, called the opening ‘a strong vote of confidence in our city, its talented workforce, and its thriving business community’. Donna Carrick, Sharp UK’s chief people and transformation officer, said the firm looked forward to ‘welcoming new colleagues, building strong local partnerships and accessing exceptional talent from the region’ as it expands its Leeds team.