Pure Offices

Pure Offices has a network of more than twenty business centres across the UK providing serviced and virtual offices and meeting space to small, growing enterprises through to global corporates. At The Blade, Pure occupies two floors of the building, offering offices from 1-30 people. Having opened their Reading business centre in 2018, Pure quickly moved to almost full capacity by the end of 2019, with more than 90% of their space let. Whilst Covid dented occupancy levels for them, this was relatively short lived and the flexibility of their terms and space availability has appealed to those wanting to re-establish an office presence, post pandemic.

Nicola Briginshaw, Centre Manager at Pure Offices Reading says,

“We can adapt to the requirement of the company quite easily and if they need more space, or they outgrow us, we can refer them to The Blade so the business can continue to expand without significant relocation costs”.

As an office space provider, nested inside a larger office building, the sense of community and collaboration is one of the key drivers that encourages companies to choose Pure’s offices. As well as putting on their own Pure Offices networking events, Nicola explains how being part of The Blade also encourages networking between fellow occupiers, “We hold monthly events

for our clients which is a great way for them to meet each other and find out a little more about each other’s businesses. There is a lot of business to be done between clients as we have a great mix of industries here in Reading. The Blade also supports small businesses by hosting regular pop up shops and events in the reception area.  Everyone loves this and it really brings our occupiers and outside businesses together”.

It’s all about the location for Pure Offices

With more than 20 centres across the UK, the team behind Pure Offices knew Reading was a key destination for them. Whilst The Blade sits within the same commercial property family as Pure, nepotism had no bearing over the decision to locate the Reading business centre here.

Nicola makes clear that it’s about the location and the prestige this iconic building offers. “The Blade portrays a strong corporate image. This helps us appeal to our clients and undoubtedly has the same benefit for them, some even suggesting that it helps when they are recruiting”. She continues “Clients love that they have their offices in the most iconic building in Reading.  We are only 6 minutes’ walk from the train station so very accessible for travel, with a commute to London of only 20 minutes.  Clients enjoy working in the centre of a busy town, we have a good selection of shops, bars and restaurants on our doorstep. The team at The Blade have also negotiated some great discounts with the local retailers and eateries that our occupiers can take advantage of too”.

What’s your favourite view from The Blade?

It has to be the 13th floor and the outside roof terrace facing south. On a clear day you can see across Reading into Bracknell and Wokingham. We’ve been known to treat our clients to an ice cream on the roof!

The recent arrival of the peregrine falcons nesting on the roof has been pretty amazing too and we’ve loved watching them via the live webcam.

Life @ The Blade

Pure’s Reading Business Centre at The Blade is one of the few UK locations whereby Pure Offices occupy space inside another building. For Nicola this is a bonus “We are part of a diverse group of businesses and occupiers at The Blade and being in a professional environment, but one that is friendly and relaxed, is the best part about it (although the coffee they serve is a close second!).  The team who run the building do a fantastic job to ensure everything is looking smart and running smoothly, which is one less thing for us to have to worry about”.

Nicola concludes “The Blade really take care of us. We’ve got secure 24/7 access, meeting rooms, and a business lounge at our disposal. But they look after the people too. For instance, to celebrate International Women’s Day The Blade invited all the women in the building to a complimentary lunch on the 13th floor. There was a talk by a guest speaker Samantha Clinch, who is a Mindset and Winning Expert and we were each given a goody bag, which was a really nice touch and made us feel extra special”.

Superstars @ The Blade

Any stars in The Blade team that you’d give a shout out to?  

“Joanna on reception is always so helpful and so welcoming to everyone.  Kevin, one of the inhouse cleaners is a little Gem and always happy to help with anything we need doing.  We are so lucky to work in a building with so many lovely companies and the people really make it a joy to come to work”.