Leading Wrexham company Moneypenny has been named among the best workplaces in the country.

The accolade came at the British Council for Offices (BCO) annual National Awards, recognised as highly commended in the Corporate Workspace award.

The BCO’s respected National Awards programme recognises top quality office design and functionality and sets the standard for excellence across the office sector in the UK.

More than 1,380 of the country’s top designers, developers, architects and occupiers, who won their category in the 2017 Regional Awards programme, attended the National Awards dinner.

Moneypenny, a flagship project for the telecoms industry, impressed the BCO judging panel with its commitment to staff welfare through good design.

The 76,000 sq ft office is the largest privately funded building of its kind in the region, and judges noted that work on the project was finished on time and under its ambitious budget.

Set within 10 acres of landscaped grounds, Moneypenny’s vast array of amenities, which include a treehouse meeting room, village pub with a decked terrace, sun terrace with astro-turf flooring and picnic tables, and a triple height atrium with a restaurant and stadium seating, were commended by the judges.

Designed with the happiness and wellbeing of staff at its heart, the judges highlighted that the project demonstrates that bespoke design does not have to be expensive to exceed expectations.

Andrew Woodhouse, BCO judging chairman for the North of England, North Wales and Northern Ireland, said: “The challenge the company and its professional team faced was to create a happy workplace on a budget, and they certainly achieved their objective.

“The internal and external design demonstrates how functional can still be creative, and how innovative design can achieve a spacious feel whilst maintaining highly efficient floor plates.”

Richard Kauntze, BCO chief executive, added: “With Moneypenny, it is clear that the welfare of the workforce was forefront in the approach and resulted
in an innovative and
cost-effective design of numerous social spaces, and impressive end product.

“Every building recognised at this year’s National Awards sets an exemplary standard of quality for future office development throughout the UK.”