I . T .
New home – Cornerstone directors Chris Petty ( left ) and Chris Bibby in the firm ’ s swanky , refurbished offices .
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : TOM BANKS
A HOME FROM HOME
Why Cornerstone ’ s new gaff is the perfect fit
Moving into a new home is always a game-changer . But , for Cornerstone Group , it ’ s also a statement of intent . An intent to carry on growing a business that , in its first 15 years , has become one of the region ’ s best known IT , digital and telecoms companies .
Cornerstone Group , based at Preston Farm , Stockton , now has five components : Cornerstone Business Solutions , Cornerstone Marketing Solutions , Cornerstone Visual Media Solutions , Cornerstone Commercial Property Solutions and Cornerstone Education Solutions .
And to ensure that five into one does go , shortly before Christmas the company moved – lock , stock and barrel – from its old Map House premises on George Stephenson Street to the newly-named Cornerstone House , just 800 yards away .
Bought for £ 350,000 , and spruced up with a £ 100,000 investment , the two-floor , 5,000-sq ft building is four times bigger than Cornerstone ’ s previous home .
The engineers are on the ground floor – an open plan space with much more room in which to service and repair businesses ’ laptops and computer equipment .
There are several meeting rooms , two kitchens , a huge boardroom – and even a fully-fitted bar , complete with chillout area and arcade games .
And according to Cornerstone Group MD Chris Petty , it ’ s proving the perfect new home .
He told Tees Business : “ The new office gives a great initial impression – as soon as you walk in , it ’ s impressive . There ’ s a
Home sweet home – Cornerstone ’ s new offices at Falcon Court in Stockton .
double height hallway , a nice little settee and seating area , digital signage and a video of all our different companies – it ’ s Cornerstone Group in a nutshell .
“ It really looks the part and gives us room for more expansion . The engineers on the ground floor now have their own bespoke workshop where they do all the fixing of computers and the preparation of new ones .
“ It ’ s a big worktop area with wallmounted monitors so the engineers can simply plug computers into them and the screens are there .
“ The whole building is a lot more userfriendly and somewhere we can bring our customers for entertaining reasons too .”
Entertaining ? That ’ s right . Rather than meet clients on expensive nights out in fancy restaurants , Cornerstone wants to do its entertaining closer to home – well , at home , to be precise !
And , if all goes to plan , the bar will be “ opened up ” for customers and clients on the last Friday of every month for social get-togethers .
Chris explained : “ We ’ ve got a really nice bar area upstairs where we can bring customers to relax and get to know them .
“ We ’ re a serious business with very high standards , but I guess we ’ re also known for liking a party from time to time . We have our own box at Middlesbrough Football Club , for example – and now we have our own bar , which we think is a nice touch .”
Cornerstone ’ s sales director Chris Bibby says the feedback about the new building , from staff and clients alike , has been wholly positive .
He said : “ We ’ ve got our brand all over the walls and the glass , it ’ s got a proper Cornerstone stamp on it . And everyone has their own space in which to do what they need to do .”
And , with an eye on the future , he said that was another reason to move .
He explained : “ There ’ s lots of room to grow into . From a sales point of view and growing the business , you can visualise what ’ s going to go where , which make us want to get on that employment drive .
“ We ’ re looking for a couple of new salespeople at the moment , which will then lead on to new engineers – and we ’ re now in a building suitable for a dynamic and growing business .”
And , with Cornerstone Business Solutions just having become a Crown Commercial service provider , meaning it can deal with government departments directly rather than having to go through a drawn-out tendering process , these really are exciting times in Cornerstone House .
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