Rocketmakers has moved locations! The team are now working from a 3,800 ft2 office space in the newly renovated 20 Manvers Street office building near Bath Spa station.
The move from their current Bartlett Street headquarters marks a return for CEO Richard Godfrey, who worked at 20 Manvers Street for eight years from 1991 when it was the home of local software house Praxis and subsequently the consultancy giant, Deloitte.
Outgrowing Bartlett Street
Rocketmakers has been growing rapidly for the last year, and the once-spacious company digs on Bartlett Street were feeling increasingly cramped. After deciding to find a new location, the management team considered several options (including a move to the larger tech scene in Bristol).
Richard and co-founder Keith Walker were very reluctant to move away from Bath, however, and really resisted leaving the city behind. They were delighted to find the perfect space at the newly renovated 20 Manvers Street. Located a few seconds from Bath Spa station, the new office is right in the heart of the city and perfectly located for commuters.
“We’ve been planning this move for six months,” Richard explained. “We really wanted to stay close to our roots in Bath but we also want to attract the best talent from the whole area. Moving so close to the station eases the commute for everyone and really helps with our growth plans.”
“This city has been our home for over a decade and we enjoy the thriving creative environment here. We want to continue to actively support it.”
Homecoming for Richard
The move marks a homecoming of sorts for Richard. He worked previously at 20 Manvers Street starting in 1991 for a company called Praxis, which was very shortly bought out by the international consultancy Deloitte.
While there, Richard built Deloitte’s European Solutions Centre on the ground floor of the building, which provided demonstrations for clients implementing software from SAP, Oracle, and its own custom software solutions.
Richard left Deloitte in 1999 for a career at Microsoft before co-founding Rocketmakers in 2007. Now, after a highly successful decade working with some of the biggest names in British industry, Richard’s career, at least in geographic terms, has come full circle:
“I’ve had a real sense of satisfaction returning to 20 Manvers Street. It looks and feels like a completely different building now, of course. I suppose it’s a place I left on my own twenty years ago and now I’m proud to be returning with another team of highly talented and creative people.
“I’m still in touch with many colleagues from my time at Praxis/Deloitte and I’ll be inviting them to see the new old place in the next few months.”
Venture III
The new office has been designed to provide an excellent work environment for everyone on the team.
A new fully equipped staff kitchen, including an oven, a four-ringed hob, a double fridge-freezer, two microwave ovens, two dishwashers, and a full range of pots, pans and cooking utensils, sits at the far end of the office. Everyone will be encouraged to cook meals for themselves or in groups.
There is also a large communal dining area (complete with charging points) to encourage socialising during meals.
Workstations are all equipped with ergonomic, completely adjustable chairs featuring mesh backs and seats. There are also motorised standing desks, and the highest-resolution-possible, curved screen monitors to reduce eye strain.
The centerpiece of the office are two large work “pods,” decorated to appear like rocket stages. The rocket bears the name, “Venture III,” signifying that the Manvers Street office is the third in company history.
“We are over the moon with the new office,” explained Richard. “We are looking forward to being at Venture III for a very long time!”
Photo by Rebecca Faith.
*At Rocketmakers we leverage our experience to build innovative software for companies of all sizes. If you have a vision for a project and you need a technical partner to help you design, develop and deploy it, get in touch: firstcontact@rocketmakers.com
