Helmont House is a high-rise hotel and office building in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Completed in 1984, the building has 12 floors and is the 15th-tallest building in Cardiff. The building was renovated in 2009 into a 200-room

Premier Inn Premier Inn Limited, a subsidiary of Whitbread, is a British limited-service hotel chain with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. As of 2025, the company owned and operated over 800 h ...

hotel. The building was previously occupied by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

and was one of the largest office buildings in Cardiff, and is yards away from

Cardiff Queen Street railway station Cardiff Queen Street railway station () is a railway station serving the north and east of Central Cardiff, Wales. It is the fourth busiest railway station in Wales. It is located near the major thoroughfare of Queen Street and is one of 20 st ...

.WalesOnline , Office purchase adds acres of space to firm’s portfolio
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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. In 2009 the building's occupier,

, relocated its Wales headquarters to a new office site at the nearby

Callaghan Square Callaghan Square () is a large public plaza in Cardiff, Wales, previously known as Bute Square. It was developed as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme to link central Cardiff with Cardiff Bay. History Cardiff Bay was developed ...

, in the south of

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Cardiff Cen ...

. Helmont House was acquired by the property company Rightacres when the building's value was estimated at over £10m. Rightacres had previously acquired

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, situated in a country estate that is now Holland Park. It was built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope. The b ...

in Cardiff from

Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Established in Birmingham in 1765, Lloyds Bank e ...

, which was converted into a

Mercure Hotel Mercure may refer to: * MERCURE, an atmospheric dispersion modelling CFD code developed by Électricité de France * Mercure Hotels, a chain of hotels run by Accor * French ship ''Mercure'' (1783) * Dassault Mercure, a French airliner built in th ...

. The building was renovated in 2009 into a 200-room

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. of Helmont House remains dedicated to office space, of which is let to law firm NewLaw Solicitors. The building featured in episodes of the television programmes ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (" Partners in Crime") and ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

'' in 2007. Both series are filmed and produced in Cardiff.

Architecture

The angular look of Helmont House was inspired by the

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

art movement which was dominated by artists

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

Location

Helmont House is in close proximity to the main shopping areas including Queen Street and

St David's St Davids or St David's (, , "Saint David, David's Welsh toponymy, house”) is a St David's Cathedral, cathedral City status in the United Kingdom, city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun, Pembrokeshire, River Alun and is ...

is within a short walk, as are the Cardiff Central Bus and Railway Stations. The building is one of the closest hotels to the

Cardiff International Arena Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and currently, for sponsorship reasons, as Utilita Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena locate ...

.Big Cardiff , Premier Inn (Cardiff City Centre)
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References

External links

Premier Inn - Cardiff City CentreNewLaw Legal Ltd T/A New Law SolicitorsSkyscraper News - Helmont HouseProperty Week article on the purchase of Helmont HouseWalesOnline - British Gas moves 1,200-staff HQ
{{Landmarks and Visitor Attractions in Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Hotels in Cardiff Office buildings in Cardiff Office buildings completed in 1984

History

Architecture

Location

See also

References

External links