Businesses everywhere look for efficient and cost-effective solutions when moving offices. There comes a time when a business needs to spread its proverbial wings and set up shop in a new environment.
A regional solicitor firm, Clifton Ingram LLP, already had offices in Wokingham and Reading, the latter of which was the result of a merger with other law firms in the area. In June 2021, they merged with Bells, a Farnham-based law firm that already had an office space with an imminent lease expiry date. Developing said space came at an opportune time.
The team at Clifton Ingram had a tight deadline to complete the move and were incredibly busy following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had expressed a desire to create a modern, spacious, COVID-safe office with separate meeting rooms to accommodate their growing team.
Being a supplier of Clifton Ingram for well over 30 years, Frasers Office Interiors would be tasked with project managing the entire Surrey office design, move and fit-out, along with supplying high-quality furniture.
Due to the longstanding relationship between Clifton Ingram and Frasers, there was a clear mutual understanding of how both parties operated. Frasers used their expertise to deliver a new office setup, that they knew would work for the client.
A clear priority for the growing solicitor firm was to have an open-plan office Fundamentally, they were confident that a professional, reliable and capable third party office renovation and furniture specialist like Frasers could handle and oversee all aspects of the project, giving them complete reassurance and peace of mind.
The trust was evident from the beginning as Frasers management was brought along to all the on-site visits with Clifton Ingram and the estate agents, being kept informed of any communications and developments. During these ongoing discussions and visits, Frasers could point out how the space could be utilised more effectively and how more meeting rooms could be added. The client hadn’t considered this possibility, so they were grateful for Frasers’ transparency and attention to detail.
Frasers would use these drawings to produce detailed, clear layouts of the prospective office, liaising with the client to request changes, ask questions and make suggestions in a structured, collaborative manner
The drawings and layouts gave way to sharp-looking 3D CAD illustrations, which the Frasers in-house design team could create with consideration given to the room dimensions, client requirements and the inclusion of office furniture that could be delivered post-build.
Frasers commissioned their trusted interior design and build partners to begin the process of building as soon as the project was commissioned. Strict and realistic deadlines were given to the builders, assuring that they’d be met. Frasers would, to save time, oversee the delivery of new office furniture, as well as specific requested items from their incumbent Reading office, during periods when it would not interfere with building work.
When the project had been commissioned, Clifton Ingram announced the news of the move to their team. Nick Clark, the Director of Frasers, took the initiative to be on-hand at this time to answer staff questions proactively and professionally.
It was crucial that during the building process, any problems that arose were relayed to both Frasers and Clifton Ingram but luckily, due to the diligent work done prior to instructing the builders, there weren’t any unexpected issues.
Thanks to their effective project management, Frasers completed the entire office renovation ahead of schedule, with several days to spare. This good news left the client even more elated, allowing them to move earlier than expected.
As is often the case with office fit-outs and renovation projects, it’s quite easy to go over budget. However, in this instance, the project was completed within the allocated spend amount and did not go a penny over.
Clifton Ingram had this to say:
“We set out to provide our colleagues with a fresh, innovative working space that would bring them together and be something they could be proud of. Colleagues now have more flexibility in how they work, selecting and changing their setting according to the task in hand.”
“Frasers have been a pleasure to work with – their design ideas inspired our thinking, and they were flexible and accommodating to our changing requirements. Nick took the time to help walk our staff through the new office designs and really bring the plans to life for them. Frasers have helped make our move to Gostrey House a success.”
