Bank House Newcastle: The building that made mental fitness part of the lease
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Commercial Property
Avison Young
Case Study
Bank House Newcastle, managed by Avison Young, became the first commercial property in the UK to provide all tenants with a building-wide mental fitness platform - demonstrating what modern workplace wellbeing looks like when it's built into the fabric of where people work.
About
Bank House is a brand new BREEAM Excellent Grade A office building in the heart of Newcastle city centre. Part of the Pilgrim Street development - a transformational regeneration project delivering over 750,000 sq ft of new offices, a new public square, and a boutique 5-star hotel - it is managed by global real estate services firm Avison Young.
The building already housed Lycetts Insurance Brokers, an existing Leafyard client. When Building Manager Andrew Simmons saw the results Lycetts were achieving, the question became obvious: why stop at one tenant?
Challenge
Commercial properties have long competed on physical amenities - gyms, bike storage, showers. Mental health, by contrast, has typically been left to individual employers to manage, unevenly and often inadequately.
For a Grade A building positioning itself at the forefront of the Newcastle office market, that status quo wasn't good enough. The challenge was to integrate meaningful, evidence-based wellbeing support across a multi-tenant building without disrupting day-to-day operations or placing the burden on individual occupiers.
Solution
Bank House partnered with Leafyard to provide every tenant with access to the platform, fully funded throughout the first year. The rollout included personalised mental fitness support, Mental Health First Responder training - which can otherwise cost thousands per employee - and regular on-site wellbeing events, all coordinated centrally by Leafyard.
"When we saw how well it was working for Lycetts, it quickly became clear this was something worth offering to the entire building. It's innovative, it aligns perfectly with our goal of creating a forward-thinking and supportive workplace, and it sets us apart in the Newcastle office market."
Building Manager, Bank House
By funding and coordinating the rollout centrally, Bank House removed the barriers that typically slow adoption in multi-tenant environments.
"In a multi-tenant building, having Leafyard handle setup, training, and communications makes the process seamless. It's one of the easiest initiatives we've rolled out - maximum impact, minimal disruption."
Building Manager, Bank House
Measurable Impact
Tenant response was immediate. Neptune North, one of Bank House's occupiers, reported that a quarter of staff engaged with the platform within its first week.
Engagement & Adoption
25%
Week 1
UK First
"What appeals to us most about Leafyard is its focus on what is most relevant to the user, allowing engagement at their own pace. It's super easy to use effectively. We find the quarterly reports genuinely useful in raising awareness of potential areas of concern, but the biggest benefit for us is knowing our team has access to a supportive resource whenever they need it."
Head of People, Neptune North
Business Benefits & ROI
Traditional EAPs average 3% usage. Leafyard's building-wide model achieved 25% engagement from a single tenant in week one alone - without any individual employer having to fund, procure, or manage implementation.
For property managers, the model offers a genuinely differentiated tenant proposition with minimal operational overhead. For tenants, it provides enterprise-grade wellbeing support that most organisations would never access independently.
"Traditional EAPs were designed in 1982. Leafyard was built to change that. We combine 24/7 immediate support with long-term mental fitness training that builds lasting resilience. This partnership with Bank House demonstrates exactly how modern workplace wellbeing should work: proactive, measurable, and built into the fabric of where people work."
Founder, Leafyard
Conclusion
Bank House is now the first - and currently the only - commercial building in the UK to offer a mental fitness platform as a standard tenant benefit. It's a model that reframes what a building can offer: not just a physical space, but an environment where the people inside it are actively supported.
"We're proud to be setting a new standard. This is about making sure our occupiers have access to tools that genuinely support their wellbeing, now and in the future."
Building Manager, Bank House
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