Take a peek at Virgin Media’s new HQ

Virgin Media logo in the new Reading office entrance
Image from Virgin Media
Natalie Clarkson
by Natalie Clarkson
2 January 2020

Virgin Media has opened the doors at its brand new headquarters in Reading – take a peek at the shiny new office.

Based in the city’s Green Park, the new office will be home to up to 1,500 employees. It contains 1,200 desks, breakout areas, meeting rooms, and an employee restaurant and separate barista coffee shop.

The office has been designed to encourage teamwork and collaboration, but also offers areas for quiet work. Around the office, there are elements that reflect Virgin’s playful side – such as a super-sized glitter ball that shines across the restaurant. 

Lucy Matthews, head of brand at Virgin Media, said: “From creative breakout workspaces to social tea stop areas, the design encourages our people to live our purpose of ‘Building connections that really matter’. The space embodies our brand values, particularly ‘delightfully surprising’ moments, which are sprinkled throughout the building such as the giant 3D infinity loop suspended in our atrium.”

Virgin Media has also placed a high importance on sustainability for the new site. It has smart, energy-efficient lighting throughout, 10 electric vehicle charging stations outside, and all of the building’s electricity comes from 100 per cent renewable sources. This is part of the company’s commitment to use 100 per cent renewable electricity across all its sites. On top of this, employees are being encouraged to travel to work sustainably by bike, public transport or by arranging lift shares.

Bill Castell, acting chief financial officer at Virgin Media, said: “We’ve invested millions of pounds in our new HQ to create a state-of-the-art office and bring more than a thousand jobs to Reading.

“This comes on top of our recent investment to bring the fastest gigabit broadband speeds to residents across Reading, something we’ll deliver across our entire network by the end of 2021.

“This new site provides our people with a next-generation work environment to inspire creativity and help Virgin Media to keep growing and give our customers cutting-edge products and services.”

Virgin Media has also put a plan in place to dramatically reduce the amount of single-use plastics in the building. This is being rolled out across all of Virgin Media’s offices and could mean three million fewer single-use plastic items used every year.

Fancy turning up to work here every day? Head over to the Virgin Media careers website for all their latest vacancies.