Law firm buys office building
Employee-owned law firm Stephens Scown has bought the leasehold of its 16,600 sq ft Exeter office from the landlord.
Facilitated by a £3.3m Buildings Transition Loan from Lloyds, the purchase of the building came soon after the law firm had begun refurbishment works at Curzon House on Southernhay West to transform it into an office that it says “reflected its values and support for employee wellbeing”.
Working with Bespa – an Exeter-based commercial interior designer specialising in creating sustainable workspaces – the refit included a new foyer, reception and client lounge area, a reconfiguration of working space to allow for collaboration and a new suite of state-of-the-art meetings rooms.
The Building Transition Loan enabled Stephens Scown to buy the lease and complete the refit at the same time, to improve the office environment for colleagues.
Stephens Scown said it is looking to replicate the successful upgrade across its other offices in the region including Taunton and Truro.
Alex Mackie, COO at Stephens Scown and the first non-lawyer to be named partner at the firm, said: “In a year of growth and great success for us, it’s been even more important than ever to invest in our places and people. We wanted to have a space that encourages better collaboration, improves ways of working and boosts employee wellbeing. And the results have been tremendous already. Positive feedback from our team in Exeter and visiting employees from our other offices has meant we’re now looking to replicate this formula across our other offices.
“The support from Lloyds has been invaluable in our journey to building our presence in the region, while also making the space we work in our own. From here, we’ve created a great base to engage more closely with the local community and do our bit to balance people, planet and profit.”
Jonathan Thomas, relationship manager at Lloyds, added: “A well-known firm in the South West’s legal scene, it’s been a pleasure to support Stephens Scown as it worked towards the next steps of its growth strategy.
“The results of the refit speak for themselves. The benefits from the office upgrade have been felt across all levels of the business. As well as boosting the day-to-day experience of its people and quality of service to clients, Stephens Scown is now even closer to reaching its targets on delivering social value at a local level and reaching net zero emissions.”
