Diversify or die - a story of hope with Manor Royal-based CID Spaces - From the Manor

Anticipating changing times, Director Miranda Kennedy discusses how this Manor Royal company has discovered new opportunities and a renewed optimism for the future.

As a commercial refurbishment company, the sudden exodus from office spaces during the pandemic was a huge concern for our business.

This time last year we were preparing for most of our future work to be landlord dilapidations. As companies embraced home working and a more flexible approach, we imagined they would be looking to downsize from their current premises.

We were worried investing in the office working environment would no longer be a priority. Everyone seemed to be getting more and more comfortable holding virtual meetings and the daily commute was becoming a distant memory for many.

Thinking back to last year, Manor Royal felt like a scene from a Dystopian film at times. Our previously packed car park was often empty, and we were concerned most industries weren’t going to start spending any time soon.

A couple of our neighbours had vacated the area and the usual buzz off the estate had disappeared. We believed it was a case of Diversify or Die and decided to reinvent and rebrand our business.

Having always taken on many school projects, and previously worked in Education myself, we set up a designated school refurbishment company – CID Study.Space.

The office refurbishment side of the business also got a new look and now trades as CID Work.Space and both companies operate as part of CID Spaces. New logos, websites, and vans (with sign writing by our Manor Royal neighbour Fastsigns) were the order of the day.

Fast-forward to today and we could never have predicted how busy we are. The newly created Study.Space side of our business has really taken off. Over the Summer Holidays we worked all over the Southeast to update student washrooms, pastoral areas, and classrooms ready for September.

For many students this has been the first ‘normal’ school experience they have had in two years, and we were keen to ensure students returned to safe and welcoming spaces. To tackle the additional workload, we have taken on new staff from the local area, and we are looking to expand further in 2022.

The office side of the company is back to the levels we experienced pre-pandemic and we have made a great start in our new financial year. Whilst office working has undergone a huge change, we are now seeing companies adapting their provision for employees. Offices are less about ensuring everyone has their own desk and operator chair and more about working collaboratively.

Coming into the office’ might not be an everyday occurrence for staff and increasingly they need to see the benefits of working in a space that isn’t their own home.

We know businesses are focusing on ways to draw people back in and making their spaces more attractive, fun and user friendly and we’ve enjoyed working with our clients to fulfil that brief.

Looking out of the window there are still lots of empty parking spaces but the Manor Royal buzz is definitely creeping back in. We are excited to see where 2022 takes us and continue to work with all our local neighbours.

Find out about the CID Group at https://cidwork.space/ Find out more about Manor Royal at www.manorroyal.org