Two creative Hull businesses have marked an accumulated total of 20 years in Wykeland Group offices, with Wykeland’s support providing a platform for consistent growth.
Pace Communications and Fresh Design International are occupiers of commercial property development and investment business Wykeland’s Warehouse 6 building in Hull city centre and both have seen significant office space expansion over the years, gradually taking on larger offices.
Warehouse 6 overlooks Hull Marina and the Murdoch’s Connection footbridge leading to the Fruit Market area. The Grade 2 listed building, which also hosts an Ask Italian restaurant on the ground floor, is also just a short walk from the city’s Princes Quay shopping centre.
Founded in 2015, Pace Communications is an award-winning creative comms agency, with clients ranging from plastic roads company MacRebur and environmentally-friendly cleaning products business Bio-D, to Trex – the world’s leading composite decking manufacturer.
Pace’s first office was a 440 sq ft space at the Wykeland-owned C4DI (Centre for Digital Innovation) building within the @TheDock tech campus in Hull’s Fruit Market.
Pace’s rapid growth saw the agency move from one Wykeland office space to another, including, for three years, an office within Wykeland House in Queen Street in the Fruit Market, before now settling in a 4,000 sq ft space on Warehouse 6’s first floor.
It means Pace’s current home is almost 10 times larger than the agency’s first base, with Wykeland’s support helping the business to grow over almost a decade.
Pace’s current office is a large open-plan space with several meeting rooms, a kitchen and a social area, all surrounded by exposed brick walls, with natural light flooding in through windows on all sides.
Pace Communications Managing Director Anita Pace said: “From being one of the original tenants of C4DI, to moving to our first self-contained space at Wykeland House, and now being in Warehouse 6, Wykeland has been an important partner in our business growth.
“Wykeland’s team has constantly adapted to our needs as our business has grown and they are never far away if we need anything.
“We are big believers in the office as a concept. Having an attractive space which is inspiring to our team and allows them to focus, meet and collaborate, all in a short distance from the train station and local amenities, is something we really value. Wykeland were able to provide this for us, which enables us to continue growing.”
Occupying the floor above Pace Communications is Fresh Design International, which started its journey in 2004 to provide retail brands with design services built around consumer behaviour. The business, whose clients base includes Harley Davidson and retailer Mango, boasts bases in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in Bogota, Colombia, and Siegen in Germany, to name just a few, but the company’s headquarters is at Warehouse 6.
Fresh Design’s relationship with Wykeland began in 2013 when the company leased a 1,000 sq ft office at Wykeland’s Bond 31 building on High Street in Hull’s Old Town. The following year the business took up a larger suite, a 1,300 sq ft space in the same building, which it occupied for 10 years.
Fresh Design Managing Director Simon Wardle said: “Wykeland took us to see Suite 9 at Bond 31 and we immediately fell in love with it. It was really industrial, with exposed brickwork and stripped wooden flooring, and it had these great barn doors at the end that opened up with a view over the River Hull.
“Wykeland gave us the freedom to design the space, which was fantastic. We brought in a lovely, modern glass cube in the middle, which contrasted against the industrial warehouse style of the room and provided some meeting space. It looked great.”
Earlier this year, Fresh Design relocated to Warehouse 6, tripling its office space, due to significant growth.
“When we saw Warehouse 6, we knew we wanted it straight away, just like our previous office. We’ve been able to make it our own and have remodeled the space a bit to ensure we have plenty of breakaway rooms as well as areas to come together.”
Mr Wardle says it’s important for employers to be able to offer attractive office spaces to their employees to encourage them to return to the office, socialise, collaborate and support the local economy by using local shops, cafes and restaurants. He believes Wykeland gives businesses like Fresh Design the opportunity to do this.
“We’ve been really impressed by Wykeland,” he said. “They create very attractive spaces and the work they’re doing with other local businesses such as Beal Homes is turning this area of the city into a really attractive proposition for businesses and people alike.”
John Gouldthorp, Wykeland Asset Manager, said: “It’s a privilege to work with and support successful and growing businesses like Pace Communications and Fresh Design International.
“We’ve worked closely with both of these businesses over many years to ensure their office space provides a platform for growth and helps them to recruit and retain talented people.
“We pride ourselves on the quality of our office environments and on the long-standing and mutually beneficial relationships we have with occupiers. Warehouse 6 and the businesses within it are classic examples of this.”
- For enquiries about Wykeland’s business spaces, contact John Gouldthorp at jcg@wykeland.co.ukor call 01482 320968.
