Claremont wins TalkTalk contract as company targets May move

Claremont has been appointed to deliver the interior design and fit-out of TalkTalk’s 106,000 sq ft office in Salford Quay’s Soapworks.

TalkTalk’s decision to locate its North West headquarters in the building was announced in June 2015. The deal was in addition to a 20,000 sq ft lease that TalkTalk holds on Soapwork’s Boilerhouse.

Soapworks is a 400,000 sq ft redevelopment of the former Colgate-Palmolive factory, by asset manager The Carlyle Group with joint venture partners Nikal and Abstract Securities. Phase one and two at Soapworks total 230,000 sq ft, and only 24,000 sq ft remains available in this phase. Phase three can deliver around 100,000 sq ft but is yet to be brought forward.

TalkTalk is relocating 1,500 staff from its offices in Irlam and Birchwood, and is targeting a move-in date of May 2017.

Claremont Talktalk Section

Warrington-based Claremont won two separate competitive tenders to secure the work; the first to provide the design consultancy and the second, to fit-out the interior over 21 weeks.

Claremont said that the building’s history as a factory inspired the design, which combines references to industrial heritage with TalkTalk’s digitally-focused future.

The five floors will include a picnic area, an industrial-inspired café and the latest workplace technology including various TalkTalk software platforms.

Design features include a large central staircase to integrate each area and improve the flow of people. The concrete from this will be re-used to make bespoke furniture. The office will also feature a large sculpture made from more than 2,000 bars of soap.

Ken Bundy, creative director of Claremont and the project lead for TalkTalk, said: “This is our biggest project to date and involves every part of our expertise and resource. From the outset we’ve seen this brief as one that requires strong, creative storytelling in order to fulfill TalkTalk’s ambitions for a dynamic, tech-enabled and agile work environment.

“The finished space will strike a balance between bringing the TalkTalk brand to life and showcasing the building’s history.  It’s a vast, fantastically challenging and highly innovative brief and its testament to the combined commitment and passion of the whole Claremont team that we won the project.”

Nigel Sullivan, group HR director at TalkTalk, said: “As a technology company, it’s important that our working environment reflects our ‘digital first’ culture. Claremont was quick to understand what we require of a workplace and have devised an environment that far exceeds our expectations. It’s exciting to be moving to a building that offers class leading facilities that are in keeping with our credentials as a value player and to work within a space that has been designed to our team’s specific needs both now and in the future.”

JLL and Canning O’Neill are joint agents at Soapworks.

Claremont Talk Talk Soapworks

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