South Bristol’s biggest employer, Computershare, has today announced that work has begun to refurbish its UK Head Office, The Pavilions on Bridgwater Road.
The £10 million overhaul is planned to last 16 months and will involve the complete refurbishment of the offices, meeting rooms and reception area. Employees will also benefit from a new restaurant, cafe and staffed gym.
This is the first major refurbishment of The Pavilions since it was built in the 1970s. The building, comprising ten extensive and self contained office spaces, was Bristol’s first sustainable building and holds a commanding view from Bedminster Down out over south Bristol and Ashton Court.
Computershare, a global market leader in share registration and employee share plans, has occupied the building since 1997 and acquired the freehold in November 2009.
Nick Oldfield, Chief Financial Officer for Computershare EMEA said: “After a comprehensive review of the development options and a rigorous tender process, the contract to bring The Pavilions firmly into the 21st century has been awarded to local contractor, Cowlin Construction, which is part of the Balfour Beatty group. We look forward to working with the team and seeing our long thought out plans come to fruition.”
“The Pavilions is ideally located, being only 7 minutes from Bristol International Airport and 14 minutes from the M32 in Bristol City Centre. We are thrilled to start work on this refurbishment and I am confident that this project will further enhance the building space by creating a vibrant and exciting place to work, whilst holding on to the qualities that make it so unique. We’ll also be taking the opportunity to update the sustainable features that were such a part of this building when it was built initially.”
David Stockham, Cowlin Divisional Managing Director commented: “Cowlin is delighted to have been awarded this contract in South Bristol. We will be working closely with Computershare, with our works being carefully phased to ensure that business as usual can continue through the refurbishments.”
Construction consultants, Davis Langdon are leading the project and have put together a local design team including AWW Architects, ARUP and Gleeds to deliver the refurbishment.
