The office in Leeds is designed to act as a hub for Brexit officials | iStock UK splashes out £700K on furniture for Brexit office Office in Leeds will house up to 1,000 staff.

LONDON — The U.K. government has decked out an office in the north of England that will act as a hub for hundreds of officials required to cope with Brexit — at a cost of more than £700,000.

According to a government contract, delivery of 700 office chairs, 700 desks and 1,000 lockers for new staff will begin next week at an office in Leeds spread over three floors.

Up to 1,000 full-time staff dealing with Brexit-related issues will be based at the office. All the furniture must be delivered by the beginning of December, the contract says, to ensure the smooth running of Brexit.

"If furniture is not provided for this increased demand, HMRC [Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs] will be unable to support essential delivery of the U.K.'s exit from the EU," the contract description states.

The government had previously announced that HMRC will require up to 5,000 additional new staff to cope with post-Brexit demands. Millions of new customs declarations on trade moving between the U.K. and the EU will be required each year if the U.K. leaves the bloc's customs union. In a no-deal scenario, new customs arrangements will need to be applied as soon as March 30, 2019.

The contract, worth £709,000, was won in October by Bradford-based furniture company Flexiform.

"To deliver Brexit, HMRC will need to increase overall headcount to prepare for and carry out extra work related to Brexit," the contract description says. "This in turn will mean that estate needs to be found on either a temporary or permanent basis to accommodate the staff increase.

"Capacity has been identified to accommodate up to 3,980 [full-time equivalent jobs] by the end of [financial year] 2018/19 against a peak Brexit demand in 2018/19 of around 5,000 [full-time equivalent jobs]."

A HMRC spokesperson said: “We are planning to have around 5,000 additional staff across the country to work on the U.K.'s exit from the EU. Naturally these teams will need places to sit, work and collaborate‎."