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Cubiq Recruitment returned to LEVEL when they outgrew their previous space. A short timeline, high quality requirement and a sub-lease made this a very complex challenge.
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They typically hire senior, high-performing consultants to work across US, European and UK markets. That makes them a slightly different prospect to an average recruitment agency, and that specialisation has enabled Cubiq to grow consistently.
Cubiq’s first move with LEVEL took place almost two years ago. They had outgrown their previous space at riverside and our Managing Director, Joe Averill, guided them through a thorough search. They eventually decided on Tower 12 in Manchester city centre – however, they soon found they needed to move again. This time, the move was a much more complex undertaking.
Matt McKenna, Director of AI, Robotics & Autonomy, Technology & more at Cubiq Recruitment, said:
"We outgrew that space much faster than we’d expected, fortunately for all the right reasons. So, we went back to Joe. He already understood our requirements and what we liked, which made the whole process incredibly smooth and straightforward.”
The most urgent motivation for Cubiq Recruitment was headcount growth. They simply didn’t have enough desks for their team in the present, let alone in the future. That represented a problem for a business which is expecting to grow healthily in the coming years.
Matt said: “We needed a space we could grow into without overstretching on size. We grow quite organically; we don’t just decide to hire 20 people at once. We hire when we find the right people, but we need the flexibility to scale when that happens.”
They also had issues with the layout of their previous office which became apparent as their team grew. The available breakout spaces and meeting rooms weren’t working effectively for training, L&D or general meetings. The kitchen was also too central for their liking. It meant people were eating lunch next to others who were working or holding meetings.
Those two factors were key considerations for Cubiq as they began looking for their next office space. Additionally, they wanted a building which offered a greater range of amenities for their staff to make use of, and a change of scenery to freshen things up after eight years in Spinningfields.
Cubiq needed to move quickly due to the lack of available desks. It was hurting their ability to scale effectively and they didn’t have six months to wait.
Matt said: “We were bursting at the seams in our previous office, but we were only about a year and a half into a three-year lease. We didn’t want to take on a second office just for the sake of it, but we needed to move quickly enough to allow us to scale.”
That existing contract also presented another challenge: they needed to sub-lease their existing space at Tower 12 to avoid paying a huge fee to get out of the lease. What might have been a simple move in ideal circumstances had become more complex for Cubiq.
Other important factors included quality and location. This is a business with a lot of senior employees and a strong on-site culture. That meant the new office had to be high quality and easy to get to.
Matt said: “People genuinely like being in the office, there’s a lot of collaboration and teamwork at Cubic, so having a high-quality working environment was important. Our bar was quite high, within reason, without drifting into anything ridiculously expensive.
“We were originally in Spinningfields, and we couldn’t move too far. A lot of our team either lives in town or commutes in from the outskirts, so moving somewhere like Piccadilly would have added an extra half-hour walk for many of them. That wasn’t practical.”
The final quality consideration was first impressions. They were previously on the 10th floor which offered fantastic views over Manchester. Employees loved it and prospective candidates were impressed by it. Recreating that first impression was all important – whether with another view, or with a new office that was genuinely beautiful inside to compensate.
Cubiq had stayed in touch with LEVEL since their previous move and that proved to be a major advantage for the business this time round. LEVEL was able to proceed immediately as we already had a clear understanding of Cubiq’s preferences. We knew what worked for them and what didn’t – the only difference was that this search was on a larger scale than the last one.
Matt said:
“Joe moved quickly and pulled together a shortlist of the most suitable spaces, which meant we didn’t have to go through a long research phase. From there, we went straight into viewings.
“Mark our director and I joined Joe, and we made ourselves available as soon as he could line things up. Asa lways, he acted fast, and we were able to get the process moving immediately.”
In the end, that experience with Cubiq meant we found them the perfect 5,000 sqft space in Hyphen which exceeded their expectations. Not only did we meet all their criteria, but we also delivered a solution which has led to staff coming to the office voluntarily on a more regular basis.
Matt said: “Several of our team commute from quite far afield, including places like Preston, yet we’ve actually seen more people choosing to be in the office simply because they want to be here. Those who live in the city are in more frequently as well. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The quality of the space and the fit-out is genuinely one of the best we’ve come across, and Joe said the same when he saw it.
"The environment is enabling us to be more effective in the work we deliver from training to collaboration sessions and ultimately helping us operate at a consistently higher standard.”
LEVEL always strives to go above and beyond to offer a service with a difference. With the latest Cubiq move, we also managed to assist them in finding a sub-tenant for their old space at the same time as securing them a new office in Hyphen.
To add even more complexity, the previous tenant at Hyphen was in the process of relocating to London as part of the deal.
Getting that all aligned was a major challenge, but LEVEL’s search took that into account. The workspace we identified in Hyphen was already fitted out, so no work was required beyond a few finishing touches.
Matt said: “Fortunately, there wasn’t a huge amount we needed to do in terms of setup here. It wasn’t a situation where we needed three weeks of work before staff could move in. We wanted to minimise disruption as much as possible, ideally finishing in the old office on a Friday and starting here the following week.”
In the end, Cubiq was able to move with just one week of working from home in the middle. For a transaction involving three separate parties, that is an achievement made possible by proactive communication, good planning and the all important human touch.
LEVEL’s service is built on going one step further than everyone else to make sure every last detail is right. Our emphasis is always on helping the client first and foremost, and that made all the difference for Cubiq Recruitment.
Matt said:
“When we outgrow this space, Joe will be the first person I call. One of the things I really value about working with him is how accessible he is. I often compare it to what we do. We have to operate with a certain level of energy, attention to detail, and speed, and Joe works in the same way. I can send him a WhatsApp message, and he’ll reply within ten minutes. That’s exactly what we look for in a partnership.
“Alongside that, there’s the expertise. When we’re walking around spaces, I’ll ask as many questions as I can, but I’m not an expert in this and we don’t pretend to be. Having trust in Joe to give his opinion, knowing it’s genuinely neutral, is important.
“In many industries, including recruitment, people often have their own interests front and centre. With Joe, I genuinely feel the priority is simply doing a good job for the client.”
Joe Averill, Managing Director at LEVEL Workspace, said: “Clients coming back and trusting us with repeat business is the biggest compliment you can receive. We loved working with Cubiq the first time round and the experience was just as good this time, too.
“We wish Matt and the team all the best in their new space and look forward to continue supporting the growth of Cubiq Recruitment in the future.”
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