FORMER BARCLAYS BANK TO BECOME EXTENDED HOME FOR
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ne of the more conspicuous of many empty properties, in and around the centre of Bourne at the moment, has been the former Barclays Bank premises on North Street, closed since June 2018. That situation is about to change, however, as SureMove, now one of the area’s leading firms of property lawyers, is expanding their operation from their offices, presently located on the first floor of this building, to integrate the whole of the ground floor section too.
My recent conversation with SureMove’s founder and director, Kelly Fleming, revealed how the present COVID-19 crisis may have actually spurred this ambitious firm into making such a bold move, to increase their workspace to this extent. Even before the March 23rd announcement, “Stay at Home”, hit the nation’s ears, SureMove were finding their suite of small offices, formerly occupied by the long-established solicitors’ practice, Andrews, Stanton and Ringrose, rather cramped; all at a time which was seeing SureMove’s business blossom, with their reputation for efficiency, friendliness and good value growing at a pace. The lockdown was soon to witness many firms simply close down, at least in the short term, but SureMove saw this potential threat as more of an opportunity
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to progress. Computers and printers were provided for all their staff and the concept of “working from home” became firmly established. Many of the fivestar customer reviews over the last five months speak highly of this ability to provide a wonderful service … despite not being in the office. Kelly explains how the lockdown has revolutionised the ways in which the business has had to adapt to the enforced changes, particularly regarding the various technological advances; “We’ve moved on five years in less than six months”, she suggests! However, it cannot be denied that there are still valuable benefits of maintaining the traditional face-to-face meetings with the client and the camaraderie of the SureMove teams working in close proximity. To that end, therefore, the larger spaces which are in the process of being created by the large-scale refurbishment of the Barclays section of the premises, will enable socially-distanced meetings with clients and colleagues, (along with SureMove’s impressive “inhouse” training of its staff) to occur and for the business to flourish. All of the SureMove staff will have sufficient working space by the beginning of October to return, and hopefully continue to provide the service which has prompted so many satisfied clients to post such warm recommendations in their five-star reviews on the Trustpilot site.
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