Member Article

Grant Thornton puts collaboration top of the agenda in office move

Leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP has relocated its Edinburgh office, to provide the Scottish team with a sustainable, healthy, tech-enabled, centrally located workspace.

The firm has moved into its new space on the fifth floor of 7 Castle Street, taking 4,200 sq ft space in the 11,983 sq ft office building. The cutting edge, contemporary, refurbished Grade A office accommodation in the heart of Edinburgh city centre boasts impressive credentials, having achieved Platinum Cycling Score award.

It is also pursuing a FitWel star rating for the building and is anticipated that it will become the first FitWel certified building in Scotland. FitWel is an accreditation for how much a building’s design and operations contribute to its occupants’ health and wellness. As part of a recent refurbishment to 7 Castle Street, it now benefits from LED lighting, a balcony, state-of-the-art shower facilities, 32 cycling racks, changing and drying rooms to support the wellbeing of its tenants.

Grant Thornton’s new Edinburgh office will provide 80 members of the team with a versatile and agile working environment, to meet the ever-changing demands of its workforce.

The office fit-out has been carefully designed with the needs of the team in mind and with the latest technology to enable flexible working and collaboration, as the firm recognises the important role the office plays in its hybrid-working model.

The new open-plan space ensures that employees and clients are provided with the optimum working environment. It offers a range of diverse, high quality working areas including both standing and seated desks, collaboration spaces and private booths with advanced audio-visual equipment and superior acoustics.

The interior design reflects the firm’s culture of respect, equality, support, understanding and flexibility. It includes a wellness area with a prayer room, as well as a central kitchen and breakout space for staff.

All furniture and multimedia equipment from the previous office was donated to Collecteco, a socially responsible organisation that helps UK companies donate furniture and equipment to charities, schools, community groups and NHS trusts and other not for profit.

Lindsey Copland, Head of Innovation Tax at Grant Thornton UK LLP in Edinburgh, said: “Having been previously based at 7 Exchange Crescent for around a decade, it became clear as we adopted to our hybrid-working model that the size and layout of the office was no longer working for the team. By moving to 7 Castle Street, we benefit from the central location, and we were able to design a space that was more aligns to the modern ways of working.

“Connectivity, technology, sustainability and wellness were some of the main considerations when it came to selecting our new home. We have a great access to public transport routes, improved cycling amenities, encouraging our team to make sustainable transport decisions in their commutes.

“The interior has been tastefully designed to create a cutting edge, contemporary environment that secures the long-term future and meets the aspirations and expectations of our team.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .