News • 12/12/2023 • 6-min read
Louisa Ryland House open for business with first occupiers already secured
Renovation of the Grade II listed Louisa Ryland House, one of the City’s most iconic commercial buildings, delivers much-needed best-in-class flexible workspace to the City’s business community.
Partnership with neighbouring Birmingham School of Fine Art provides a showcase for students’ artwork on display throughout the building.
Louisa Ryland House, the iconic office building in the heart of the Colmore Business District in Birmingham’s city centre, has re-opened as a world-class flexible workspace following a major refurbishment programme.
Led by specialist flexible workspace operator RE-DEFINED, a MAPP company, the UK’s leading property management business, Louisa Ryland House has been transformed into modern office space for businesses looking for high-quality workspace of varying sizes without the need to commit to a long term lease.
The building can cater for smaller requirements on a plug-and-play basis as well as the mature enterprise requirements of up to around 100 people, looking for a stable place to grow their business, on a flexible agreement.
Following a multi-million pound, high-quality Cat B fit-out, the 35,000 sq ft of new workspace across four floors of the building is now open for business. Brand agency, L-E-A-P, placemaking company, Places for People and corporate advisory and investment firm, Debrett’s, are some of the occupiers within the prestigious building.
Launched in 2021 by founders Ricky Neault and Paul Ray, L-E-A-P regards itself as the only true brand agency in Birmingham, focused solely on the creation, definition and development of brands. The company has built up an enviable client list; including Halfords, Mitchells & Butlers, Nestlé Cereal Partners and Worcester Bosch.
Places for People represents a network of companies dedicated to creating, happy, inclusive and sustainable communities. Specialising in the entire spectrum of placemaking, their mission is to build homes and communities where everyone is welcome and thrives.
Debrett’s Private Finance is one of Birmingham’s fastest-growing professional firms, offering a full suite of corporate finance advisory services, advising management teams, investors and corporates on a number of transactions including sales, acquisitions, buyouts and fundraises.
Ricky Neault, Strategy Partner & Agency Founder, L-E-A-P, said:
“Being centrally located in the heart of Birmingham has always been a priority for our business. This latest move to Louisa Ryland House will allow us to continue to surround ourselves with the city’s leading businesses, as we look to attract new clients and talent. The history and prominence of the building reflects our brand perfectly and is professionally run by the RE-DEFINED team. The design aspects are striking and we are looking forward to welcoming our clients to our new space.”
As part of RE-DEFINED’s commitment to engaging with the local business and creative community, a partnership with the neighbouring Birmingham School of Fine Art has been established. This has enabled ten students to have their artwork on display across the public areas of the building. In addition to enhancing the aesthetics of the building, it is providing a platform for students to present their work to a captive local audience.
The building will provide occupiers with a range of beautiful and modern workspaces, ranging from private offices for six users to fitted open floor plates and enterprise suites for 100 users, all with superfast broadband and a wide array of period features.
With a total floor space of 35,000 sq ft, the revamped flex space at Louisa Ryland House will deliver three large enterprise suites at ground and lower ground levels, with accompanying private meeting rooms, kitchen pantries and breakout spaces, as well as private reception entrances. A further six suites are located on the second floor with a shared kitchen pantry.
Offered on a membership basis, the third floor is an open space that is set up to accommodate hot desking and is suitable for larger single occupiers, with a kitchen pantry, meeting rooms and breakout areas.
The office space is purposefully low density, providing 20% more space per person than typical flex workspaces, generating a higher quality, more spacious working environment, complemented by excellent light and air quality to boost the well-being of users.
With the best of today’s offices requiring a strong hospitality offer, Louisa Ryland House will feature a 2,500 sq ft coffee bar and business lounge. The lower ground floor features contemporary collaboration spaces that are perfect for fostering engagement. This includes a 60-seater conference space, a 16-seater training room and a 120-capacity lounge.
Building users will also benefit from a strong emphasis on wellness and air quality, which will be delivered by a top-of-the-range HVAC system, with high-quality showers and changing facilities provided.
Damon Morris, General Manager, RE-DEFINED, said:
“This is the first workspace delivered by RE-DEFINED since becoming a MAPP company and we are delighted with the result. Louise Ryland House combines our flex-focused technology and management capability with MAPP’s renowned community-building and sustainability credentials. The result is a new, highly differentiated workspace for the Birmingham office market.”
James Friedenthal, Partner, RE-DEFINED, added:
“Louisa Ryland House is a refined, modern workspace with Grade II listed heritage for the people and businesses that are defining Birmingham’s future. It delivers a wealth of benefits to occupiers, enabling them to meet the evolving needs of today’s workforce. The building exemplifies an experience-led approach to design that will draw people to the office, offering an opportunity to work flexibly according to the needs of the day. This might be working in quieter areas for concentrated tasks or hospitality-infused spaces for premium events, meetings, collaboration and connection.”
Louisa Ryland House is ideally situated in the centre of Birmingham’s Colmore Business District, just a four-minute walk from Birmingham Snow Hill Station and 11 km from Birmingham Airport.
The building is managed by MAPP and, in addition to the flexible workspace operated by RE-DEFINED, is also occupied by QA Higher Education.
