ERNIE home gets £3m makeover

ERNIE, the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment that generates the winning Premium Bond numbers, has had its Blackpool-based home extended and modernised.

Around £3m has been spent on the extension and refurbishment of National Savings & Investments’ (NS&I) original headquarters.

The building, based on the outskirts of Blackpool, has had a new call centre added and boosted its sustainability credentials by adopting modern technology throughout the building rather than just the new extension.

The building has had its BREEAM rating raised its from a ‘Poor’ to a ‘Very Good’ and it now returns a carbon saving of 51 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to DTZ, which managed the project. This amounts to an annual saving on energy bills of around £13,000.

John Edwards, director of project consultancy at DTZ, said: “It has been a pleasure being involved with this project and in assisting NS&I to provide a greatly improved and sustainable base for its staff and those of its business partner Siemens Information Services.”