£60bn Newcastle wealth management firm opens redesigned head office

Wealth management and investment technology provider True Potential, holding over £60bn in client assets, has opened its newly redesigned head office in Newcastle that supports hybrid working between office and home.

The £1.5million project was led by commercial interior designer Simon Grundy, interior design consultant for Ward Robinson, a design and project management practice based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Simon has worked with True Potential on several projects over the years as the company has grown. In the last financial year, True Potential’s turnover was £184.9m with profits of £74m.

The company has occupied the first and second floors of a three-storey office building at Newburn Riverside since 2011, expanding into all three floors in 2017. In 2020, the company saw a further 260 advisers join and recruited an extra 60 members of staff who will be based at the head office.

Simon Grundy said: “The previous redesign project completed in 2017 combined a significant element of hospitality with workplace design. The overall look was streamlined yet comfortable, the reception area had a very international hotel feel.”

These plans were halted with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, as prospects for a return to the office brightened, True Potential conducted a staff consultation to identify what their employees sought from office work in a post-pandemic world, as well as their ideal balance between remote and office-based work.

Daniel Harrison, chief executive of True Potential said: “After consulting all of our staff at True Potential, it became apparent that we all missed the in-person opportunities for learning and collaboration, especially those off-the-cuff conversations and friendships that working in an office brings and that no video call can ever truly replace.”

Simon added: “Although the number of visitors to the office at any one time has reduced, there is still a need for reception and lounge facilities. But the emphasis has shifted from hospitality to expo, with the introduction of backlit display walls, extended work and display benches, a large format video wall and video production studio.”

“The colour palette is now light and neutral throughout, apart from the subtle use of the purple True Potential brand. This means the greenery inside and outside the building really stands out, and there is a general sense of light and space.”