Not many of our Cheshire businesses will have a modern workspace with such a rich history as Clarity Business Travel and Destination Sport.

Both are based at The Tootal Buildings in Manchester’s busy Oxford Street.

Clarity, one of the UK’s leading travel management companies, has expanded and required a bigger base to house its team, as well as its specialist meetings, events and venue find division, Brighter.

And with expansion plans for Destination Sport which shares the current HQ with Clarity – both part of Portman Travel Group - a decision had to be made whether to stay at their Tootal headquarters, built between 1896 and 1898 for a firm of textile manufacturers.

With an empty office next door and plans to utilise the current workspace differently, a project team assembled to draw up its vision for the future.

Julia Smith, IT Project Manager at Clarity, was part of the team tasked with ensuring work would go smoothly to ensure a state-of-the-art workspace.

She said the offices were beginning to look outdated having been located there for nearly a decade.

And with a shift to hybrid working, she said that as well as traditional meeting rooms, the new design needed bookable hot desks, as well as collaboration zones and meeting booths.

Kate Wolstenholme, Head of Marketing and Proposition, who was instrumental in ensuring the plans came to life, added: “It’s been a big project but one we were all excited about from the outset. We knew we wanted to create a welcoming workspace for all our teams and we think we’ve managed it.

“Each part of the business – Clarity, Destination Sport and Brighter all now have their own area, as well as a communal collaboration space.

“We’ve been lucky to have some great contractors to work with who have always been helpful and flexible throughout, even when problems did crop up!”

Those contractors who made the vision become reality were Assembler Data Cabling, Simoda Ltd - AV installation, Surge Building services and Hunters North.

The completed redesign now sees a dedicated Manchester headquarters for Destination Sport which has shared offices with sister business Clarity since its formation in 2019.

Part of the reason for a redesigned office for the expanding Destination Sport team was because staff said they wanted to work from there more regularly with colleagues across different functions and brands.

It looks like the most popular part of this office refit is ‘The Huddle’ – the new communal area complete with kitchen and dining space, as well as a pool table and dart board which has been busy with staff, as well as visitors.

Destination Sport MD Paul Hemingway added: “We took the decision to create a single space for the sports division to provide an environment where they can work, socialise and collaborate.

“We’re really excited to invite both new and existing partners to the new space. It is a great environment for us to discuss future growth plans with them. We hope people will really enjoy visiting and working here.”

Back to the Clarity office, which now has “The Hangout”, with a kitchen and dining area.

And set at the heart of both offices is a smart new collaboration area with privacy booths and large hot desk spaces.

It’s purposely located here, as well as a reception area, so all teams can meet and chat with each other and with visitors.

Sarah Morriss, Managing Director of Hunters Contracts North Ltd, said: “We were delighted to have won the contract to work with Clarity Business Travel and Destination Sport. The brief was straightforward - they wanted the “Perfect Workplace” for their expanding business.”

A comprehensive collaboration process began whereby several factors were taken into consideration including working out how to relocate teams on site to enable refurbishment of the existing wing.

New furniture had to match existing furniture, innovative floor-to-ceiling storage walls, lockers and display shelving were installed, while ensuring the phasing of deliveries, clearances and installations.

There’s new tech and improved wi-fi throughout, with individual branding for the businesses to be completed soon while sustainability has been a key consideration, hence the energy-saving LED lighting with motion sensors.

Sarah added: “The results speak for themselves - a beautiful design with interesting and fun collaboration spaces, meeting rooms and a genuinely welcoming lounge area for personnel and visitors alike.

“A truly brilliant team effort, it was great to work with such a like-minded team who worked very hard to make the project a real success.”

Clarity CEO Pat McDonagh said: “We couldn’t be happier with the finished offices. So much hard work has gone into this project from so many people.

“That hard work has been worth it to see the workspace full of happy staff who are looking forward to being based here for years to come.”

The Tootal comprises Broadhurst and Lee - two inter-linked buildings which boast around 250,000 sq ft of office space, with an open air courtyard at its heart.

History tells us Tootal Broadhurst Lee was a Victorian textile company, renowned for its Tootal Tie, which built this property – perfectly situated at the time for receiving and sending materials via the Rochdale canal.

While the industries now based in the building may have changed dramatically, the recent investment by Clarity and Destination Sport, as well as other businesses based in the Tootal, ensures the magnificent old building will continue to play a big part in the everyday life of Oxford Street.

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