Stockport ID card firm expands into funky office space

Digital ID office

Trusted old traditional Orbit Developments, one of the North West’s largest commercial property companies, has taken a leap of faith in a £1million ‘defurb’ scheme in central Stockport, and secured a multinational ambitious business as a tenant.

Digital ID, the multinational ID card company, who have continued to grow since their inception in 1995, have been a client of Orbit for 4 years, growing from a 3,000 sq. ft office to this superb 8,117 sq. ft space.

Launched in 1990, Digital ID helps businesses and organisations of all sizes with secure photo ID card printing and access control requirements and is owned by Barcodes Inc, North America’s leading provider of barcode, mobile computing, and RFID (radio frequency identification) solutions.

In March TheBusinessDesk.com reported that Digital ID had acquired German business Identbase in a deal that would create 25 new jobs in Stockport over the coming year.

The new recruits will be tempted by the new office at Highbankside in Stockport town centre which has been completely stripped back to a shell and refurbished to provide a modern high specification energy efficient workspace. 

Highbankside is right on the doorstep of Stockport Marketplace and The Underbanks, the area recently dubbed The New Berlin and even described as ‘a funky family friendly alternative to Manchester’s Northern Quarter’ by The Sunday Times.

David Hinchcliffe, Finance Director at Digital ID said: “From the moment that Orbit put forward their plans and ideas for the space, it was immediately clear that this was the product that we were looking for and would really excite our staff and clients.  Together with Opus 4 and Orbit, we all collaborated and worked as a team to deliver this modern refurbishment, right from the initial design to the outstanding end product.”

The space features exposed services with linear LED lighting offset by feature pendants, a large front of house feature area with a relaxed reception and coffee lounge space enabling team presentations, a high spec boardroom, various meeting rooms, large kitchen breakout and office space for around 80-100 desks.  

Daniel Blackburn, Commercial Director at Opus 4 said: “This was an exciting opportunity to take Rhys and Orbit’s vision from an initial concept and 3D design delivering a ‘defurb style workspace’ to a ‘CAT A Plus’, to make a very tired space into a funky office space using collaborative spaces and biophilic design to give it that wow factor.”

Rhys Owen, Leasing Director at Orbit Developments said: “The vision that we had for this space was of a building you would find in a New York or Northern Quarter back street, a quirky space off the beaten track but right in amongst things.”

Orbit have had strong success with tech businesses in Stockport which gave the business the confidence to invest substantial money to produce something different. 

“We were validated, as we secured a new long-term customer for this straightaway. This is something different from Orbit but definitely the way that we are going to continue.  This has immediately ticked the boxes of an exciting thriving international businesses, so we are confident that this is the way forward,” Owen said.

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