“UNPRECEDENTED” demand in the region’s property market is fuelling the expansion of a global real estate company in York as Savills relocates to larger city centre offices.

The team of 47 at Savills York is set to occupy the former Grand Central headquarters in River House, Museum Street.

The move follows the merger of Savills and Smiths Gore in June 2015, and will see the teams relocate from existing premises in Merchantgate and Bootham.

The offices at River House, which sit above and next to the Pizza Express restaurant, have been vacant since the rail company moved to Rougier Street in August 2015.

In February this year the Grade II listed property, which was build in the 1860’s as the home of The Yorkshire Club, was aqcuired by developer Rushbond, adding to its investment portfolio of assets within York, alongside its development activity such as the recently restored St Leonard’s Place scheme.

Andrew Harle, director at Savills York and head of the rural division in the north, said: “Over the last two years we’ve witnessed remarkable growth across our business streams and we remain very optimistic about the future.

“Our move to this iconic building set in a prestigious location overlooking the River Ouse reflects that confidence and will provide a fitting and professional environment which will help facilitate our continued expansion.

“Since we merged, we have been operating across two offices in the city centre whilst looking for an appropriate opportunity to come together.

“This new location will allow our residential sales business to service clients across the city and North Yorkshire from a convenient central location whilst providing more square footage for our rural departments to work together effectively under one roof.”

Both the rural and residential teams will be moving into the office, with residential to be based in the ground floor and the rural team to take over the first floor.

Ben Pridden, head of residential at Savills York, said: “York and North Yorkshire has a very buoyant property market and is one of the most sought after areas to live in the north of England.

“We are seeing demand on an unprecedented scale and we are looking forward to continuing to work with our existing clients and applicants and we would welcome new clients to stop by and visit us when they are visiting the city to discuss their property needs with us.”

Chris Hildreth, project director at Rushbond, which purchased River House for an undisclosed sum from a local family property company, said: “To have a global real estate company such as Savills significantly expanding their presence in York is fantastic for the City as a whole and signifies York’s ever-growing standing as one of the UK’s leading cities.

“The letting is also testament to the quality and status of River House, which is a magnificent landmark building in a superb location, so close to York’s railway station and the wonderful amenities available within the City Centre.”

The Savills Leeds team will be handling the subletting of the vacated offices in Bootham and Merchantgate.