Fast-growing specialist R&D tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown has relocated its Bristol head office, giving it enough space to more than double its staff numbers again.
The firm, the UK’s largest of its kind, has increased its headcount by more than 100% since 2017 and is expected to carry on expanding. 
It now advises more than 150 companies a month and last year delivered more than £100m in tax credits for its clients.
More growth is on the cards following its acquisition last year by alliantgroup, the premier provider of tax credits and incentives in the US.
Its 100-strong team is relocating from Whiteladies Road to showpiece offices on the second floor of 10 Temple Back, close to the city centre.
The 23,200 sq ft waterside offices offer plenty of room for further expansion, with room for up to 240 staff.
The space has been deliberately designed to feel more like a creative agency rather than a traditional financial services business. The offices will house the team which comprises chartered tax advisers, accountants, sector specialists, lawyers and former HMRC inspectors, as well as quality assurance and client relations experts.
It also provides a collaborative and innovative space where people can work with agility and can choose different types of spaces to work in different ways to suit them. Spaces include a dynamic office area with hot desks, bold graphics and plenty of writing on walls, coupled with areas for meetings and quiet working.
Further intelligent design includes phone booths with additional acoustics for private calls and an enriching and enlivening cafe space with a learning lab and flexible space for lunchtime yoga or events. The reception area is enhanced with a graffiti mural designed and painted by street artist Miss Hazard.
The new office concept was the brainchild of ForrestBrown managing director and founder Simon Brown.
He has worked with the design team and local contractors behind the project, which include the Bristol offices of project management and cost consultancy services CS2, mechanical and electrical engineers MLM, interior designers Wylde IA, national fit-out and refurbishment specialist Intex Projects, Bristol manufacturer of corporate branding products Artwork Solutions, Furniture 23 , the Weston-super-Mare based suppliers of contemporary contract furniture, and Bristol-based WestSpring IT.
Simon said: “As we open our doors to our new HQ this month, I’d like to extend warm thanks to our design partners and contractors for helping my concept become a reality.
“The need to move is testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented team at ForrestBrown. Having more than doubled in size since 2017, we had outgrown our offices on Whiteladies Road.
“We certainly have aspirations to grow further, and the new office space provides us room to not only offer a welcoming environment for clients, but we also hope that it will attract the very best talent.”
The firm, which was recently listed in the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For supplement, will this year continue to add more roles in its tax team, but will also grow other areas of the business, including business development associates and expanding its marketing and sector specialist teams.
Wylde IA director and senior designer Maxine Bennett said: “I’ve been delighted to work with ForrestBrown to create a truly inspirational and unique space. This space reflects perfectly the workstyle of ForrestBrown and their commitment to their employee wellbeing, coupled with a fun and dynamic approach. It’s been a blast collaborating with them, including working with a professional graffiti artist and going ‘bold’ with the branding, I hope as they grow, we can be part of any future spaces.”
Mark Humphries, director for CS2’s Bristol office and project manager for the scheme, worked collaboratively with ForrestBrown from the project’s inception.
He added: “We have brought some of the property industry’s best local talent together to provide inspiration for the design and reflect the ForrestBrown company values of ‘share purpose feel proud’.
“Together we have collaborated to create a versatile and vibrant workspace. ForrestBrown has proved to be an enthusiastic, positive and dynamic client and it has been a pleasure to work with them. We are very much looking forward to seeing the office in operation.”
