Autocab’s new Manchester office design encompasses its vision, values and family culture to provide an unrivalled workplace experience for employees. The Uber-owned taxi and private hire booking and dispatch software provider has recently moved into a 20,000 sq.ft workspace at No.2 Circle Square in Manchester city centre following its design and fit-out by ADT Workplace.

New Manchester office

Following a 400% rise in revenue over the last five years, and with ambitious plans for further growth, creating a workplace for the journey ahead was at the heart of Autocab’s vision. In order to achieve its ambitions, it must be able to attract and retain the industry’s very best talent; having a first-class workplace based in the heart of the region’s innovation economy, will support them in achieving this.

Providing an environment that would support agile working to encourage empowerment and autonomy for people over where and how they work, to ensure productivity, engagement and comfort, was crucial. Also essential was creating an office which embodies Autocab’s inclusive and ‘family’ culture by providing settings which encourage connectivity and support a collaborative way of working, as well as being equipped with the latest technology.

Workplace transformation

To guarantee the space delivered was fit-for-purpose, understanding the requirements of Autocab’s people was key to the transformation process. Our workplace consultants worked with not just the Autocab project team but also people across the wider business to learn about their working habits and business processes, then review and gain feedback on the plans through a series of strategic workshops held on-site at Circle Square. Using the insights and knowledge gained, and by working closely with the team throughout the entire process, we were able to design and deliver an intelligent new office which is tailored to Autocab’s current and future needs.

Set over two floors the vibrant new office includes a variety of workplace settings to offer a truly agile and flexible working environment. Open plan desk areas are assigned to specific teams but there are also agile tables, brainstorm and innovation rooms, meeting rooms of varying sizes, quiet pods for individual working, feature presentation and media walls, internal demo areas and collaboration pods.

Central to the office design is a striking architectural staircase which has been created in the centre of the space and delivers the wow factor as people are welcomed into the office. Designed to improve connectivity and communication between teams, the staircase facilitates movement between floors without the need for an external lift. It also incorporates bleacher style seating facing down onto a high tech media wall, providing an additional presentation space but also doubling up as an area where the team can simply relax.

The office also has a social area which includes a well equipped kitchen as well as table tennis, fussball and a pool table where team members can easily take time out of their day to relax and have a break with colleagues. A multi-faith and wellness room is also available to further support employee wellbeing and inclusivity.

High specification features and finishes are prominent throughout, from the herringbone flooring to stunning lighting, bespoke joinery and luxury furniture, to the very latest in modern tech. The colour palette is complementary of Autocab’s modern brand, with black, blue and purple tones utilised alongside more neutral colours to create a welcoming yet inspiring space which feels inherently Autocab.

Commenting on the project Lucy Sunner, head of culture at Autocab, said: “We worked on this project for over a year with the wonderful team at ADT Workplace, who were an absolute dream to work with. The team coped with our last-minute changes and became an extension of the Autocab family. We cannot wait to cement ourselves into the city centre and continue to grow Autocab together in our gorgeous new space – something the full team can be very proud of!”

CEO of Autocab, Safa Alkateb added: “Great people join and stay at great companies primarily for one reason, for the opportunity to do their best work, and I’m confident that our new space at Circle Square will allow our people do just that. Our amazing new offices are stunning. Our team’s innovation on behalf of customers and their personal development within its four walls will give our new home meaning, purpose and value. I am excited to be part of Autocab’s new chapter.”