A cruise line firm is celebrating the completion of works on its Ipswich headquarters which has brought all its offices under one roof.

Fred.Olsen’s existing offices in Whitehouse Road have been refurbished to bring them up to the same standard as a new headquarters building opened last summer.

The old and new buildings have been combined into a single three-storey HQ spanning nearly 39,000sq ft for its 400 staff. Facilities include a basement car park and further parking outdoors.

The project was aimed at bringing the business’s various offices in the town to a single location and help it deal with an anticipated growth in guest numbers once people can travel freely.

The company remains confident that the easing of travel restrictions will unleash renewed enthusiasm for cruise holidays. It recently snapped up two cruise liners — Bolette and Borealis — to drive future growth.

Fred.Olsen chief financial officer Belinda Mindell said: “The completion of our new headquarters in Ipswich is a big milestone for the Suffolk-based Fred. Olsen companies. When we return to office working, we will do so with our teams together under one roof, in a brilliant new space for us all.

"All of us at Fred. Olsen would like to extend our thanks to Artisan for their professionalism and commitment to the completion of this project in these unprecedented times.”

Artisan managing director Michael Eyres said lockdown had presented the firm with some “unique challenges” but it had managed to completed the scheme — which started in May 2019 — head of schedule.