There are many ways to tell the story of business growth. You can look at revenues, people, geographic expansion… you can also look at office moves. Every successful business eventually outgrows its office. It’s part of the natural order of things. You don’t take on a building that can accommodate 300 employees on day one – what start-up needs that kind of overhead? You begin in a broom cupboard, then move to an office with one meeting room, then take over a whole floor and so on.
This year, we celebrated BigChange’s 10th anniversary but it feels like only yesterday that I sat down with an idea and a handful of people I trusted to start work on this company. Our first home was in Leeds Innovation Centre, near the university. It was a small, serviced office, no bells and whistles, but the perfect base for a start-up.
After two years, we outgrew those premises, and moved to Temple Point Business Park. It was there that we doubled the business to £10m in new contract wins and renewals in just under three years. Of course, all that growth meant one thing: we were completely out of space and had to move again. I still remember all the important conversations I ended up having at the small table in the BigChange kitchen in Temple Point because the meeting rooms were always booked!
In 2018, we relocated the business to our home in Thorpe Park business park. I had 70 colleagues when we moved, and the new office had the space for 150. That was such an exciting move for all of us because we tripled the amount of workspace. Suddenly we could invest in chill-out areas for our people and offer really attractive meeting spaces where our salespeople would feel confident hosting events and welcoming customers. It was a game-changer for the business.
So far this year, we have reached the dizzying heights of £36m in new contract wins and renewals. We have more than 250 talented people working in the business now. Again, we find ourselves needing more desk space, somewhere that is even more welcoming for our customers and partners, and somewhere that gives us the opportunity to invest in the wellbeing of our people.
Our last move was pretty challenging for the business – our third move in five years - so I’m very glad to say that our upcoming relocation is a small one. We are staying in Thorpe Park but expanding to take over two floors right at the top of the Paradigm building. This comprises around 13,000 square feet of office space but also comes with a huge roof terrace, which will be amazing for entertaining.
After this move, we will have the capacity to welcome many more people to the business. Signing this lease is a testament to our belief in the future of BigChange, and our commitment to face-to-face interactions with our people, customers, and partners. The whole team here is really looking forward to settling into our new home. The question is: how long before we outgrow this place too?
