Helmont House

Helmont House is a high-rise hotel and office building in Cardiff, Wales. Completed in 1984, the 58-metre-high (190 ft) building has 12 floors and is the 15th-tallest building in Cardiff. The building was renovated in 2009 into a 200-room Premier Inn hotel.

Helmont House
Helmont House
General information
TypeHotel and Offices
LocationCardiff, Wales
AddressChurchill Way, Cardiff city centre CF10 2NB
Coordinates51.481°N 3.171°W / 51.481; -3.171
Current tenantsPremier Inn
Meltwater Group
NewLaw Legal Ltd T/A NewLaw Solicitors
Quote Exchange Ltd
Horwich Farrelly Solicitors, Cardiff.
Completed1984
OwnerRightacres
Height58 metres (190 ft)
Technical details
Floor count12
Floor area155,000 sq ft (14,400 m2)

The building was previously occupied by British Gas and was one of the largest office buildings in Cardiff, and is yards away from Cardiff Queen Street railway station.[1]

History

When British Gas was privatised in 1986, fewer than 600 people were employed in the Cardiff office. In 1998 the Cardiff regional headquarters became the National Sales Centre for Britain. Prior to relocation, 2,400 people were employed at Helmont House, two thirds of which were call centre staff, with a further 800 working in the field.[2]

In 2009 the building's occupier, British Gas, relocated its Wales headquarters to a new 70,000-square-foot (6,500 m2) office site at the nearby Callaghan Square, in the south of Cardiff city centre. Helmont House was acquired by the property company Rightacres when the building's value was estimated at over £10m.[1] Rightacres had previously acquired Holland House in Cardiff from Lloyds TSB, which was converted into a Mercure Hotel.

The building was renovated in 2009 into a 200-room Premier Inn hotel on a 25-year lease after a wide range search by the company for a location in central Cardiff. The hotel was the largest in the city in terms of beds.[3]

Sixty thousand square feet (5,600 m2) of Helmont House remains dedicated to office space,[4] 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) of which is let to law firm NewLaw Solicitors.[5]

The building featured in episodes of the television programmes Doctor Who ("Partners in Crime") and Torchwood in 2007. Both series are filmed and produced in Cardiff.[6][7]

Architecture

The angular look of Helmont House was inspired by the Cubist art movement which was dominated by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.[8]

Location

Helmont House is in close proximity to the main shopping areas including Queen Street and St David's. Cardiff Queen Street railway station is within a short walk, as are the Cardiff Central Bus and Railway Stations.[9] The building is one of the closest hotels to the Cardiff International Arena.[10]

See also

References
  1. WalesOnline | Office purchase adds acres of space to firm’s portfolio
  2. "Corporate Wales | Energy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-08-06. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  3. WalesOnline | Capital joins the Premier league
  4. "Rightacres | Helmont House". Archived from the original on 2010-08-22. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  5. Property Week | Rightacres fires up Cardiff's biggest hotel
  6. Doctor Who Locations | Helmont House
  7. Torchwood Locations | Episode 201
  8. BBC | Art Walks: Cardiff
  9. "DTZ | Helmont House, Churchill Way, Cardiff". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  10. Big Cardiff | Premier Inn (Cardiff City Centre)
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