Bygott Biggs, the legal recruitment firm that covers Nottingham, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, has relocated to the Vale of Belvoir after leaving its headquarters in Nottingham city centre.

The company, led by Jane Biggs, had been based in a Regency town house on Clarendon Street for 15 years but has now set up home at The Engine Yard at the iconic Belvoir Castle.

With many law firms reassessing their own working arrangements in the light of the pandemic, Jane Biggs explains that the decision to relocate their HQ was something the board of directors had been debating for some time.

She said: “We have been exploring our options, weighing up the benefits of our central base in town and access to the professional district, with ‘wasted’ time on the commute that could be put to better use. That can mean extra time to work on our clients’ projects or of course, extra time for quality of life. It all comes down to balance.

“We had already transitioned to a more hybrid approach to working before the pandemic started but it definitely gave us the final push to progress with our plans. The key was finding a location that worked as a new headquarters and was still easy to access for our clients, and the team.

“We focus on meeting our clients at locations that are convenient for them but even though we are now further from the city centre, we are actually finding more people coming to us for a conversation in this beautiful and inspiring setting. It is also very convenient for candidates who are considering a career switch from London, as Grantham train centre is so close.”

Bygott Biggs’ recent Workplace of the Future Survey of over 1,000 lawyers reported that an element of remote/home working is now a critical option for employers to offer, with over 75% wanting at least a hybrid approach.

“We have done our research and we have been assessing our own working practices alongside these findings,” added Biggs.

“In a way, this feels a little like the end of an era but we’ve assessed how our time is best spent and that is not in the car commuting into the city centre on a daily basis.

“Work/life balance is crucial to peak performance in the workplace and happiness at home as our survey clearly showed. For us, our working hours are best spent with our clients and candidates and we can best achieve this balance through a considered approach to remote working and office-based meetings. Our beautiful new home enables us to do just that.”