Close Brothers - Halladale House

Close Brothers are a leading UK merchant banking group founded in 1878. Earlier this year, we were asked on behalf of CBRE to design and fit out their new Chester offices. The new offices are to facilitate their growth plans and will be home to Investment Managers, Financial Planners and their Client Support Teams, offering space for team expansion and client facilities.

The client brief was to provide high quality client-facing meeting rooms, a hotel-like reception and an engaging workspace to support their expansion plans. The design was to be in-line with their distinct branding in step with current offices in Manchester, Northwich and London.

The design consisted of: meeting rooms with webex facilities, office area with kitchen and bespoke lockers, storewall and slatted screens to break up the space and a multi-use boardroom to host both internal and client events as well as webex board meetings. As the client deals with investment portfolios for high profile clients; the office needed to reflect the companies’ values and successes. This meant specifying sophisticated, high-quality furniture that would stand the test of time.

The colour palette chosen was warm and neutral with blues and greys. The dark wood in reception creates a comfortable yet elegant area to welcome guests in a hotel-like setting whilst the lighter wood in the offices enhances the natural light within the space, creating an energising area for staff to enjoy.

Our design team carried out a full space-planning exercise as the client was unsure how to fully maximise the office space and facilities. The challenge was that they wanted their main meeting room to be easily accessible from reception but also have the scenic views of the outdoor area on the other side of the building. Amspec overcame this issue by incorporating smaller meeting rooms located just off the reception. Having the main meeting room overlooking the picturesque, ornamental pond means the client is able to host both indoor and outdoor formal events, making the most of the attractive external area.

Other works included; supply & installation of glazed partition and AV walls, doors, ceilings, feature lighting, flooring, M&E and decoration including; wall finishes, window blinds, logos & branding.

We manufactured all the bespoke joinery in our inhouse workshop including; a bespoke reception desk with backdrop panelling, bespoke locker units, acoustic timber slats for space division, all countertops and storage, and a kitchen and teapoint.

We created CGI images in order for the client to truly visualise how their offices would look before any construction work began. See comparisons of the CGI’s and images of the actual offices above.