Attik
International media company Attik has offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Leeds. Hilary Robinson, Director of Operations at the Leeds office, manages a staff of 12 and is excited about the development of Holbeck Urban Village. She feels it has unique advantages as a location for creative industries.
"In simple terms Attik plans, constructs and manages clients' brands for communication purposes, working all across Europe. We have a particular niche in communicating to a young adult consumer audience aged from 18 to 40. Along with our US offices, we execute work across a variety of media platforms, from print to TV.
"Yorkshire has one of the fastest growing creative sectors in the country and is determined to attract and keep the most talented and creative graduates in the region.The challenge for Attik was to relocate to somewhere that improved the lives of employees and the international clients that visit us. At the same time, Attik very much wanted to maintain its northern-roots as we see this as an important part of our DNA. There were only a few options in that respect.
"When Attik decided on relocating to Leeds from Huddersfield we looked at few areas in Leeds, Holbeck being one of them. The building at Holbeck stood out from the rest because of its location, its surrounding environment and because of what it offered in terms of office space, its proximity to the train station and the M1/M62 links. Overall, from a creative point of view, the company wanted to be close to a community that we could connect with on a business and social level.
"Mixed-use occupancy is a vital ingredient to the success of the whole area, from a business, retail and resident point of view. The fusion of those tenants will promote success and will also attract people from outside the city region to take notice. There is real scope to build upon the existing buildings and bring them back to life and Attik looks forward to watching this as it unfolds.
Holbeck Urban Village is a great place to do business. It feels very 'neighbourhood-like': quiet, personal and not too many 'suits' which attracts us creative types. It's also a nice place to hide and just get on with your thing, as opposed to working in a big white ivory tower. Clients like the buzz, but are not put off by it's overall personality and don't feel it's expensive or OTT. Today, most clients want to see their creative partners succeed, but don't want to feel it's costing them. This area has achieved a good balance in providing a hot-house environment for creative industries."
