West accountants Old Mill has relocated its Shepton Mallet office to Wells, where it has built a carbon-friendly 10,000 sq ft head office on the city’s Cathedral Park business complex.
Eighty staff have moved to Bishopbrook House, which was commissioned by Old Mill and funded through its partners’ pension scheme.
The two-storey building as office space for up to 100 staff on the first floor while the ground floor has a reception, board room, conference rooms and around 7,000 sq ft of office space for let.
Old Mill is one of the region’s fastest-growing accountancy firms. Originally based in Shepton Mallet and Yeovil, over the past six years it has opened offices in Exeter, Melksham and Dorchester and more than doubled in size, now employing more than 250 people.
The Yeovil office relocated in November 2012, while a new office for Shepton Mallet has been on the cards for many years.
Finance partner Mike Butler, who has overseen the development, said: “We started to outgrow the Shepton office, which was formerly a 19th century mill, around six years ago and started to look for a new office in the town.
“We wanted an open-plan design and plenty of room for expansion but after years of searching, we couldn’t find anything suitable, so decided to embark on a project to build something that would fit our needs.
“We chose to build at Cathedral Park because once completed, it will be one of the key business destinations in the region. Plus it is set in a wonderful rural location, has great access and parking and utilises green and sustainable building solutions, which was important to us.”
Mike said although Old Mill is sad to be leaving Shepton after more than 80 years in the town, the six-mile move brings opportunities.
“Shepton has been at the very heart of our business ever since it was founded in the 1930s and we will be retaining strong links in the town, but by moving to a new site, we are able to develop something that is just right for our firm’s current needs,” added Mike.
Bruce Lockhart, partner and head of the new Wells office, said he is excited about the move and the positive affect it will have on both staff and clients.
“Service is at the heart of everything we do and providing staff with the right working environment is vitally important; in this respect, the new Wells office is a massive step forward for us,” he said.
“The open-plan design will allow us to seat teams in a manner that will encourage our accountants, tax planners, financial planners, pension specialists to work in an even more integrated way and this will enable us to deliver even better service levels to our clients through creative and innovative thinking generated naturally by the way in which we operate on a day to day basis.”
Pictured: Old Mill staff in the new office. From left, Andrew Moore, Karen Caddey, Rebecca Madden, Bruce Lockhart, Di Hale, Valerie Fell, Matt Dampier 
