T2 entrepreneur Martin Johnson said the upgrade shows clients that his company ‘means business’
T2 founder and CEO Martin Johnson; director of research, content and digital, Lydia English (left) and director of finance and estates, Becki Rookyard, relax in the breakout area on the first floor of the company’s transformed headquarters.(Image: T2)
Leadership development consultancy T2 has invested £1.2m upgrading its Fruit Market headquarters into a “people performance centre”. The Hull firm, founded by former Royal Navy serviceman Martin Johnson, has bought and refurbished its Queen Street premises to create a 6,000 sqft three-storey facility which it says sets a new standard for how leadership development is delivered and experienced.
The decade-old business says the investment has enhanced its offer to clients in the Hull and Humber region, and beyond. Since its launch in 2015 as a one-man consultancy working out of a shared business centre, it has become a team of 12 with clients including Manchester United, Specsavers and the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team.
Mr Johnson said: “The vision for this building has always been to create somewhere that immediately tells delegates that we mean business – because we do. Owning this building, and now investing significantly in it to make it a perfect fit for our business, marks another major milestone for T2. It gives us the platform to deliver an exceptional client experience, to grow our team, and to keep pushing the boundaries of leadership development.”
Works at T2’s property have been led by Hull-based commercial interior design business RFD and include the creation of first floor space for delivering client training, including two dedicated rooms, a virtual delivery suite, one-to-one coaching and meeting room and a communal breakout area. The rooms are equipped with Clevertouch interactive screens and digital room-booking displays outside.
On the top floor, a large training space can accommodate up to 30 people. It carries an inscription of a Charles Darwin statement: “It is not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change”. That room opens onto a rooftop terrace with views across the Humber estuary and over to The Deep aquarium. T2 plans to use the terrace for outdoor team-building activities and breakout sessions during spring and summer programmes.
And on the ground floor, a fully sound-proofed podcast studio has been created, featuring acoustic boarding, professional lighting and multi-camera capability. The studio is home to the T2 People Performance Podcast and is available for external hire, while the other rooms can also be hired for meetings, off-site team days, or other business uses.
Mr Johnson added: “We’ve invested heavily in making every space in this building work, both for our clients and for our team. The technology, the environment, and the detail all sends a signal about the quality of what we do.
“We also want this to be a genuinely great place to work. We’ve thought about the small things as much as the big ones – such as the library of psychology books, the roof terrace overlooking The Deep, and the greenery.”
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