Virgin Media opens new multi-million pound headquarters in Reading

• Multi-million pound investment in Berkshire will see as many as 1,500 staff based in Reading

• New office incorporates accessible and sustainable design features with measures in place to dramatically reduce single-use plastics

Virgin Media is today opening a brand new headquarters in Reading’s Green Park.

Up to 1,500 staff will be based at the 120,000 square feet office, with the first staff moving to the site today. The office is the size of roughly 160 average sized UK homes and contains 1,200 desks, breakout areas, meeting rooms, and a staff restaurant and separate barista coffee shop.

The state-of-the-art office boasts an innovative design with spaces that encourage team-work and collaboration, quiet areas for reflection and playful ‘Virgin’ features such as a super-sized glitter ball in the restaurant.

Significant investment has gone into setting high sustainability standards for the Brook Drive site. With smart energy-efficient lighting throughout, the site is home to 10 electric vehicle charging stations and all of the building’s electricity comes from 100% renewable sources. Staff are being encouraged to travel to work sustainably by bike, public transport or by arranging lift shares.

New measures are being put in place to dramatically reduce the amount of single-use plastic consumed in the building. When rolled out in the New Year across the wider Virgin Media estate, this could mean up to three million fewer single-use plastic items are used every year.

Virgin Media has worked with leading accessibility consultants to ensure accessibility principles were embedded into the building. From signage, colour scheme and furniture styles to step-free access and hearing loops in key spaces, accessibility was a priority for the project.

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.”

The move is part of Virgin Media’s multi-million pound property investment programme which is providing thousands of staff with better quality working environments.

The site is powered by Virgin Media’s hyperfast connectivity with more than 150 miles of data cables spanning the entire building.

Last week, Virgin Media switched on the UK’s fastest gigabit home broadband service in Reading and towns across Berkshire, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire. The new Gig1 service offers connectivity 25 times faster than Reading’s average broadband speed and was launched as part of Virgin Media’s plan to bring gigabit speeds to nearly 15 million homes by the end of 2021.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Virgin Media’s new office is located at 500 Brook Drive, Reading, RG2 6UU. The creative vision for the space was defined by Dalziel and Pow, in collaboration with Virgin Media’s brand team, in order to bring the brand's values and personality to life as a workspace. The concept was then created by architects Sheppard Robson, and delivered by fit-out specialists Overbury. The first staff move in to the site on Monday 2nd December.

The average (median) download speed in Reading is 40 Mbps. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations Report 2018, published 18 December 2018.

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we’re expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which could extend our network to up to 17 million premises.

Our interactive TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones.

Virgin Mobile launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, one of the world’s leading converged video, broadband and communications companies. Liberty Global connects 11 million customers through operations in six countries across Europe subscribing to 25 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 6 million mobile subscribers.