Take a tour of Headspace's coworking space in Farringdon, London

With community at its heart, excellent facilities and original exposed brickwork, steel beams and marble columns – it's a cool hub to run your creative business from. We popped along to the Hatton Garden space to speak to Fabrizio Nicola-Giordano of Headspace and find out more about what's on offer.

Can you tell us more about the space?

Social, stylish and sophisticated! Built in 1907 by architects Niven & Wigglesworth, our Hatton Garden space is set in a Grade II listed building in the heart of Farringdon.

We’ve always taken inspiration from the buildings we develop, so our design team was careful to incorporate classic features such as original marble columns and staircases alongside modern aspects such as exposed brick, glass partitions and bespoke art.

We’ve also put a lot of thought into creating a balance between private and public space, allowing members to get on with the job in a focused environment when they need to, as well as creating a number of more social areas including breakout spaces, a library, kitchen and a communal garden, in which members can work, even in the winter.

What makes your coworking hub special?

We wanted to create an environment in which businesses could flourish together in a beautiful, community-driven space without the constraints of onerous five-year leases.

For members, the collaborative aspect is really important and we arrange a variety of events, from yoga classes and comedy nights to panel discussions on the business issues of the day.

Some of our intimate events are particularly popular and include executive-level cheese and wine tasting evenings and our monthly breakfast club, for staff of all levels. Both of these are great platforms for getting all the different businesses in our building together, talking, sharing ideas and learning from each other.

We also happen to be the only UK space that offers members free access to coworking spaces across the globe via our membership of the League of Extraordinary Coworking spaces (LExC).

Are there any favourite parts of the space?

For me, the breakout areas are usually where the action is – always buzzing with discussion and activity. We have a library filled with books where you can take a break from the stresses of your day and there’s usually something happening in the event space, whether that be team yoga, tea tasting or one of our Talking Heads sessions.

We’ve had people like Dragons Den winners John Kershaw (M14 Industries) and Harrison Woods (YourParkingSpace.co.uk), BBC’s The Apprentice contestant Alex Epstein (founder of Concoction) and Will King (founder of King of Shaves) speaking to our members about the key issues facing fast-growing businesses.

Another favourite is the striking, pop-art style, Batman and Robin mural that adorns the wall of one of our meeting rooms. This came about through our partnership with Creative Debuts, a platform that aims to improve the working environment by showcasing inspiring art from young emerging artists in workplaces. They’ve transformed the walls in our Hatton Garden space in the process and showcase new artwork every few months. Members can even buy anything they discover.

What’s the local scene like? What’s on your doorstep?

It’s buzzing! Clerkenwell has a rich heritage and is well known as a hub for global designers and architects, as well as being a hotspot for fine dining and boutique hotels, but it’s not all about the sleek and sophisticated! We’ve got the bustling Fetter Lane market on our doorstep and Crossrail is set to turn Farringdon into one of the capital’s busiest and best-connected economic hubs.

Each of our locations is really unique, so Hatton Garden certainly has a different feel to our spaces in Marylebone, Manchester and Birmingham.

Can you tell us more about the members you have? Anyone with a recent interesting story?

We’re home to around 50 businesses and over 500 desks and we’ve welcomed anyone from fledgeling startups to tech unicorns and even major PLCs.

Our very first tenant was Buzzfeed UK, who grew from five or six people to around 60 staff within a matter of months! We’ve also had the likes of Move Guides and Eventbrite, who both secured major funding rounds whilst members.

More recently, we’ve had people such as social/creative agency That Lot, co-founded by writer and comedian David Schneider, running a number of in-house sessions for the community and Cowry Consulting hosting The Cowry Summer School, which gave budding behavioural scientists an insight into the practical application of behavioural economics, with the opportunity to engage in industry talks, live briefs and networking with business leaders.

The latest member to join our rapidly growing community is Climb Online, the digital agency led by Apprentice winner Mark Wright. They’ve got a great profile and ambitious growth plans, so we’re delighted to support their ongoing success.

Ok, we're sold. How does one join? What benefits are there?

Ultimately, we take care of the hassles of running an office so that our members can focus on what matters most, their business. But we also believe that for businesses and their teams to really thrive, we need to put their people (their most important asset) at the heart of everything we do.

That’s why we offer things like exclusive employee perks and discounts and provide support on things such as employee wellbeing. In January, we hosted our first health and fitness week, which included talks, exercise classes and a load of freebies and we have also run a number of events to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace.

So, if you’re serious about giving your business the tools to succeed and your staff the chance to thrive, get in touch with us here ([email protected]) to book a tour of the space and come and meet our wonderful team.

To find out more about Headspace, or book a tour, visit headspacegroup.co.uk. Or follow them on Twitter and Instagram.