Offices aim to balance life and work

NEW offices will open at a former Cardiff snooker hall next month, as part of an innovative new £5.5m project that will combine flats and workspace for entrepreneurs.

The “W2” development, opposite St David’s Hospital in Riverside, will even see old snooker tables being put to use as stylish slate-topped boardroom tables and desks.

Located on the junction of Wellington Street and Cowbridge Road East, the building consists of new retail space and office units, with a two-storey extension on top containing 44 apartments.

More than half of the building’s oneand two-bedroom flats, some of which have sweeping views across the city, sold within a month of going on sale earlier this year. Some 70% of them have now been snapped up altogether.

Some of them have been sold to entrepreneurs who will use the building’s 24/7 office space – which has led to it being dubbed a “live/work hub” by developers Loftco.

Forty office units will be available to rent, benefiting from high speed wifi access, smart TVs and modern “break out” spaces.

As well as the reclaimed snooker table desks – a nod to the building’s past as the long-standing home of Wellington’s Snooker Club – the offices will also contain street art and concrete floors.

Entrepreneurs can rent the office space for as little as £35 a day, and space will also be available to rent by the hour.

Mark Andrews, director of Loftco, said: “W2 typifies our ongoing mission to find and develop innovative solutions that deliver desirable live/work spaces within sough after urban locations.

“We feel there is a real gap in the market for contemporary and stylish office units that are designed with modern-day work requirements in mind. We hope that W2 will provide a solution to this need, offering flexible and affordable rental terms for businesses of all shapes and sizes.”

Gary Carver, director of business space at the Cardiff office of Savills, which is assisting Loftco with the marketing of W2, said: “There are currently good levels of demand for smaller flexible offices at present, particularly from companies in the creative and TMT sectors.”