Access Group are relocating their head office to a 4-storey 10,000m2 development in the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP), creating over 500 new jobs and boosting the local economy. LUSEP already contains over 66,000 square metres of lettable space, housing over 70 companies and hosting over 2000 jobs. LUSEP has excellent transport links, being just 1 mile from the M1, 7 miles from East Midlands Airport, and 90 minutes by train to London. It is already home to advanced engineering, low carbon technologies and sports technology business clusters and has numerous facilities and amenities, as well as high-specification office and lab space.
Access Group is one of the UK’s leading software firms, with a portfolio spanning ERP, finance, HR, payroll, recruitment, education, warehousing, business intelligence, professional service automation and manufacturing, and supplying products to many mid-market companies. They have been described as ‘the perfect fit for LUSEP’. Access serves over 16,000 clients and has over 1600 employees, a third of whom are based in the Midlands. The HQ deal will generate £1.6M a year for Leicestershire County Council, and will form the heart of the LUSEP development, which aims to create over 21,000 jobs and £123M into the local area over the next 25 years.
Work on the HQ began in early 2019, and completion is anicipated by summer 2020, led by general contractors Wates Construction. Plans were initially announced in summer 2018, and gained the support of the Midlands Engine initiative, which aims to grow the economic strength of the Midlands. Indeed, a study discovered that neighbouring Leicester has enjoyed the biggest increase in new digital technology firms of any UK city in the last decade.
In July and August 2019, Studwelders installed almost 9000 square metres of trapezoidal MetFloor 60 steel decking, thousands of CSC shear studs, edge trim and FASET-compliant safety netting. The decking and shear studs were manufactured by CMF. Following the installation of the cold-formed steel products, Studwelders concreting teams were able to install steel re-enforcement meshes and pump concrete on top of the steel decking on each storey, to produce a lightweight and high-tensile composite slab flooring system.
Studwelders CFD, members of the Concrete Society, adhere to SCI P300 protocol when carrying out concreting works, and are able to provide 2 different flatness tolerances and 3 different surface finishes when pouring concrete, with their skilled installation teams being able to achieve either a SR2 5mm maximum deviation or a SR3 10mm maximum deviation flatness tolerance. 3 finishes are available; ‘Basic’ (SR3 only), ‘Ordinary’ and ‘Plain’, in ascending order of density, smoothness and suitability for direct traffic. Studwelders teams can achieve these flatness tolerances and surface finishes despite the malleability of the underlying steel.
Studwelders CFD also manufacture their ‘FibreDeck’ reinforcement alternative solution, which consists of a blended mix of Fibermesh (a world leading brand of micro-synthetic fibres) and Novocon high performance steel fibres. When combined within traditional concrete, it delivers a three dimensional reinforcement solution for use with MetFloor composite decking, pre-mixed offsite and supplied ready to pump with measurable performance benefits to the lifespan of the concrete slab.
This development is the first component of the 35-hectare expansion of LUSEP, leaving the opportunity for further construction work in this exciting location.
