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Senior partner Carol Mackinnon opens the new gym at Deloitte's refurbished offices
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Deloitte moves 500 staff back to Abbots House

By David Millward
August 13, 2012

Five hundred staff from business advisory firm Deloitte have returned to their town centre office after it enjoyed a £12 million refurbishment.

Abbots House has now become a flagship building for the firm after it achieved an ‘excellent’ rating in a leading environmental assessment.

The refurbishment of the building which overlooks Forbury Gardens is the largest property undertaking for Deloitte since the construction of its London headquarters in the City in 2008.

Carol MacKinnon, partner in charge of the Deloitte Reading office, said: “We are proud to unveil our newly refurbished office which leads the way for Deloitte’s sustainability agenda.

“This is a great example of how the firm continues to prioritise its environment programme.”

Staff moved out of the office in Abbey Street to offices in Imperial Way, South Reading, while 16 months of major work was carried out.

The refurbished building is designed to reduce the amount of energy consumption by maximising the use of natural light and using green building materials.

Roof top solar panels have been installed as have enhanced waste and recycling systems and water efficient fixtures and fittings throughout the building.

A BREEAM assessment, used to evaluate a building’s green credentials, gave the office block an excellent rating.

The company says the refurbishment also focused on staff wellbeing with an on-site gym and the provision of cycle facilities.

Ms MacKinnon said: “As one of the biggest employers in the area, the building now enables the firm to accommodate for natural growth as the regional team continues to expand. This project is the largest we have undertaken in recent years and demonstrates Deloitte’s commitment to both the region and its long-standing environmental ambitions.”

The overhaul of the building, owned by Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, increased the floorspace of the offices by 100,000 sq ft and involved the construction of two new staircases to the central atrium.

A 5,000 sq ft plant room was stripped out and converted into office space while the building’s generator, water tank, boilers and air handling unit were replaced and relocated.

Fellow tenant, law firm Boyes Turner, remained in Abbots House throughout the refurbishment.

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Most recent user comments 10 of 10

Yawn.

Damocles, Reading
16/08/2012 at 10:36

Why is this in the Wokingham paper?

HatsOfDoom
15/08/2012 at 10:58

The ladies name is Caroline.

I Ron
14/08/2012 at 13:40

Maggie,

Probably applied for a job there and was rejected.

Dong-Ding, 3rd world slum
14/08/2012 at 10:47

Sick of,

I know a number of people who work there - some really are in their own bubble but believe me, there are more that have a brilliant sense of humour and very few are moody!!

Did you work there and not get on with people? Sounds like it!