OFFICE FIT OUT SIMPLY BIZ

Simply Biz are a multi award winning provider of regulatory compliance and business support to financial advisors all around the UK. The company has grown since it’s 2002 inception and now boasts a group of companies under the “Simply Biz Group’ name that collectively provide a number of services to the financial sector.

They operate in a number of locations throughout the United Kingdom, from Scotland to the South of England, but their origins are firmly rooted in Yorkshire, with their head office based in Huddersfield.

For a number of years now, they have been looking to relocate their head office to a larger premises and when the opportunity to move into St Andrew’s House in Huddersfield came up, they jumped at the chance.

However the premises wasn’t in the best shape and would need a complete overhaul before they moved in. So they set out to find a company that could refurbish and fit out their new premises for them.

Before we could get to work on creating the new facilities, we needed to completely strip out the existing facilities. This included ripping out the carpet and ceiling tiles throughout the building, creating brand new M&E infrastructure throughout, installing a brand new air conditioning and ventilation system and a refresh of all the WC and breakout areas. The initial strip out process took around three to four weeks to complete and soon enough we were ready to begin creating the new space.

Simply Biz wanted us to create a modern, fresh and inspirational working environment that promoted flexible working, allowed employees to flourish and also attracted new members to join the team. They really wanted us to take the lead on designing each and every aspect of the new premises and once we presented them with our vision for the space, they were all in.

Situated over two floors, the large open plan office spaces are broken up with co-working spaces, meeting pods and on the ground floor, a central breakout area. In addition to the open plan areas, we have also created numerous meeting rooms, Director’s offices, a reception area and second breakout area throughout the premises.

It was important to Simply Biz that their teams could quickly and easily team up and collaborate in flexible meeting areas and that’s why breakout areas were so prevalent throughout our design. On the ground floor we have the wooden ‘sphere’ area with wooden dividers to create an element of privacy without completely shutting out the world around them. Ideal for impromptu meetings and teamwork.

We also incorporated a number of meeting pods into the design, that are scattered around the ground floor ensuring that nobody is more than a quick walk from being able to work on projects together.

The centrepiece of the ground floor is the breakout area. This multi functional space is ideal for lunch times, catch up’s and of course collaboration. The angled wooden dividers separate the area from the rest of the office without sacrificing it’s open plan feel.

The funky colours and varying finishes of the furniture create a bright and welcoming space that is sure to go down well with Simply Biz’s employees.

The new reception area features a number of tables and chairs for visitors to use whilst waiting and its open plan feel really makes it a welcoming space. Elsewhere on the ground floor we have created two meeting rooms with a folding partition in-between, allowing Simply Biz to create one large conference room at a moment’s notice.

Rounding out the ground floor features is another new breakout area complete with funky furniture and a number of WC areas that have been fully refurbished.

On the second floor, we’ve created an L-shaped open plan area with partitioned offices at one end and additional collaboration areas at the other. Seamless glass partitioning complete with branded manifestations separate the individual offices from the open plan areas at one end.