The Warrington office of Claremont Group Interiors has marked Auto Trader’s arrival at London’s St Pancras North Development with a scene from The Italian Job.
With mobile and collaborative working at its heart, the £1.4 million office follows in the footsteps of its Manchester counterpart which underwent a 16 week transformation – becoming an “inspirational playground” complete with skateboarding full-pipe, camper van meeting room and ski lodge.
The new 14,000 sq ft London office nods to the company’s British and motoring heritage and offers a creative and collaborative workspace for 120 staff, previously located in Wimbledon. An Italian Job inspired tunnel, complete with three suspended original Minis in red, white and blue, provides the welcome as you arrive on the third floor and shows that Auto Trader has developed the taste for memorable workplaces.
The move to a London office was prompted by the need for more collaborative team working and it’s now home to Auto Trader’s HR, design marketing, product development and finance teams.
The office includes a large and flexible multi-functional space for staff training, presentations and client events as well as 10 meeting rooms for Auto Trader’s ‘squad’ project teams and a roof-terrace with views across King’s Cross. The office design features room booking systems, video conferencing and a C-touch media wall for interactive huddle working, all delivered by audio-visual specialists Viewpoint.
Alison Ross, technology director at Auto Trader said:
“Prior to the move we were in a space that just didn’t work for us – there was too much of it and it didn’t support easy communication or team work as our people were spread across four floors.
“St Pancras North gives us the space and resources we need for effective digital collaboration and puts us in the heart of a growing tech community too. Every aspect of the design supports us as a digital business, captures our history, facilitates teamwork and shows we understand the need to motivate and inspire our staff. Claremont has done a tremendous job, delivering an office design that achieves all that in spades.”
Ann Clarke, joint managing director of Claremont Group Interiors led the design and build of both the London and Manchester offices. She said:
“The London and Manchester offices both score highly for creativity and they certainly provide some real ‘wows’ – but it’s the collaborative and open nature of the design that really make this an effective space where every square foot has been made to count.”
Viewpoint designed and installed the audio-visual and multimedia system across both sites. Ben Woodroffe, senior project manager said:
“We’ve used technology to help Auto Trader support its business processes and manage one of its biggest assets – that of space. From room booking systems to video conferencing, the teams now have the tools they need to communicate and work with ease, whether that’s simply booking a meeting room, checking project progress on a big screen or working with colleagues in a different location. “