Regional accountancy group Bishop Fleming has become the latest professional services firm to announce it is relocating its Bristol base to one of the city’s flagship office schemes.
The firm is to move from Queen Square to take 13,000 sq ft in 10 Templeback, pictured, including the whole top floor and roof terrace of the 123,000 sq ft building.
Bishop Fleming, which has seven offices across the South West and West Midlands with Bristol being the largest – capped its centenary last year by winning the Business of The Year title at the prestigious British Chamber of Commerce national awards.
The firm has expanded over recent years and the new office at 10 Templeback gives it space to double its headcount. The new office will be designed with flexible and agile-working in mind, enabling the business to service the region with the full expertise of its 370-strong workforce.
Bishop Fleming managing partner Andrew Sandiford, pictured, said: “Moving to 10 Templeback is yet another stride forward in our ambitious growth plans for our business and particularly this region.
“It will provide a cutting-edge working environment to attract and retain the highest calibre of people and to ensure the best delivery of professional services and experience for our clients.”
Property agents Savills and Bristol law firm Meade King advised Bishop Fleming while Cushman & Wakefield and DLA Piper acted for 10 Templeback landlord St. James’s Place plc.
Savills office agency director Chris Meredith said: “Bristol is a highly competitive market and commercial property options of this size and quality are scarce. 
“We are delighted to have facilitated these new premises for Bishop Fleming, which will provide a fantastic workspace, creating a hub for people from other offices to work from as well as providing ample space to grow.”
The rent Bishop Fleming will pay on its new base has not been disclosed but the ongoing shortage of prime offices available for occupation in Bristol city centre has driven up rents in recent years – around 23% to £35 per sq ft for Grade A space in a little over a year according to the latest research.
Last month international law firm Osborne Clarke was linked with a possible move from its Bristol office, where it employs more than 600 people, to around 70,000 sq ft of the Halo flagship development, which is under construction on the Avon Fire and Rescue HQ site near 10 Templeback.
Bishop Fleming said relocating to the Grade A waterfront office space at 10 Templeback, which has an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating and many other green credentials, would support its own sustainable business strategy. Last year the firm was accredited as a plastic-free champion.
Other occupiers in 10 Templeback include global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald, NFU Mutual, international human resources group ADP, specialist legal and business services provider Jordans and R&D tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown.
