UBS Wealth Management has made two hires at its new Leeds office and is already looking to further increase headcount as it looks to target “old money” in the Yorkshire region.

The two new appointees are client advisor assistants Sunjeet Kalsi and Lisa Helliwell, who join advisors Neil King, Claire Kerr, Karen Vardy and James Copeland.

Kalsi latterly worked in foreign exchange with Raphaels Bank in London, while Helliwell has held similar support roles at the Yorkshire arms of the Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish and RBS, the publication said.

The Swiss banking giant’s Leeds office will have eight staff by the end of the year, and will likely increase staff levels by another 50 per cent over the next two years, Richard Bottomley, who is responsible for building out the new office, told the Yorkshire Post.

In addition to the region’s pockets of inherited wealth, UBS is also targeting new entrepreneurial business, he is quoted as having said.

UBS launched the Leeds operation – its sixth in the UK – at the end of July, appointing Jonathan Sherlock, who also heads the Manchester office, to lead it.

UBS puts the wealth of the Leeds region at around £7 billion ($11.4 billion), and it is additionally the UK’s largest financial and professional services centre outside of the capital. The region also boasts strong retail and media sectors, as well as being a manufacturing powerhouse.

In June Brewin Dolphin made expansionary moves at its Leeds office, appointing Paul Martin from Barclays Wealth as divisional director, along with three ex-colleagues. The hires took Brewin’s Leeds headcount to 40.