Nestled in the North East is a company on a mission to make the world taste and smell better. Natara is a global business that has its home and HQ rooted in the North, manufacturing and supplying over 1,000 speciality Aroma Chemicals and Natural Extracts around the world.
From offices that dated back decades, to a desire for a space that represented who they are and where they’re heading, we supported Natara with an office move that although only 21 miles up the road in Seaham, has opened up a whole new world of opportunity, possibility, and growth.
A new home for Natara
We wanted the offices to reflect those of a world class company, to create an environment where employees felt invested in and valued, where we can encourage collaboration and teamwork, and to position the company for future growth.
- Katie Craddock, HR Director, Natara Global
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It needed to feel collaborative. A space for their people to thrive, communicate, and gather - where a conversation felt easier than a Teams message and with soft spaces to sit, exchange, and share - this was the primary goal and driving vision for a new space, to create a new energy for the people that would inhabit it.
Their new space sits in Seaham on the Spectrum Business Park. With sea views from the board room, a swell of coffee shops a short walk away, and excellent transport links, the location of this new space offers more abundance, choice, and optionality before we even step foot inside.
Chosen for location, adaptability, and potential for growth in the future, Seaham is the new home for the Natara HQ, still within easy reach of their production sites in Seaton Carew and Billingham.
Collaboration at the very core
Collaboration was of course important for the finished article, but it became a cornerstone of how the project not only functioned but flourished.
Lumybel led as the contractor, with David Willson of Quoinstone Property acting as the Project Manager for Natara, with support from RYPE furniture on the interiors.
What started out as a project turned into a shared vision, where teamwork and collaboration stopped becoming words used in emails and became a way of working, conversing, and creating that meant we were working in total alignment.
We are most proud of the partnership approach with Rype and Lumybel; this was definitely not a transactional customer/supplier relationship, every element of the project was discussed openly to seek consensus on the decisions we made, and Lumybel were very adept at ensuring the focus on sustainability was front and centre in all these discussions.
- Katie Craddock, HR Director, Natara Global
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Working with Natara, we crafted and created a space that was not only fit for purpose, but supported the local community, too. Throughout the re-fit and build, the project employed a workforce that was 95% local to Seaham, choosing a local workforce and sewing the seeds for professional relationships that will last far beyond the project completion.
Forming a close partnership, we at Lumybel worked with the client team and our on-site teams to pivot, change, and choose together - from the very first conversation right through to handing over the keys. It was this teamwork that meant we could deliver a space that truly felt like it belonged to Natara from day one, and that works with their business goals as well as being a space they can grow and thrive in.
People were always at the centre of these conversations. A space where people could converse, a space where people could grow, and a space where people would feel at home. Natara wanted that feeling to ripple through each section, each selection, and each element of the design - from furnishings through to fittings.
Yes we are here to deliver a project but we’re also here to hear what is keeping our clients awake at night, and that is exactly what we did for Natara to bring this space to life. Whether that’s changing our reporting structure to match their language and style, or simply being there to listen, - we always want to understand on a human level what is giving you grief so we can do what we need to help.
- Paul Gaughan, Director, Lumybel
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From the seed of an idea in 2023, we’ve worked with Natara throughout that period to select a space that they could see their future in. Step by step, piece by piece, we have worked together to bring it into reality and now, almost three years later - we can see the fruits of that vision come to life.
It all comes down to teamwork. From the client, to the landlord, through the supply chain, the teamwork has meant we’ve been able to create a high quality space that aligned with the budget and the goals of it being a people-first space. The teamwork made this possible.
- Paul Gaughan, Director, Lumybel
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Change that
doesn’t cost the
Earth
Value means different things to different people. In this case, the core value sat with the people and the experience that this space would create for them, but in addition to that there were budgets to consider and a desire for the space to be as sustainably-produced as possible. Sometimes those kinds of choices have to be manufactured or intentionally brought to the table, but for this project those decisions were baked into the way of thinking and way of working.
We wanted the project to be cognisant of its impact.
- David Willson, Director, Quoinstone Property
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At Lumybel, we have a deep-rooted belief that brilliant spaces needn’t cost the Earth,
and this project sings to that on every single level.
Spaces should be created with respect for what came before and in reverence of what sits in the future. We made a commitment to use as much of the existing infrastructure and facilities as we could, working consciously with the landlord and on-site team to see what could be salvaged and saved. Electric track systems were brought up to the latest regulations, we modernised and cleaned the existing vent system, and used as much existing material and embodied energy for what was already there. From the carpet tiles to the electrics, there are signs and signals throughout the building that every decision was a conscious one, but only if you know the story.
By replacing or repairing, and sourcing reused materials, we saved the client over half a million pounds, real money that would have otherwise had to have been spent to create a space that functioned and felt like this one - and the new systems we did bring in were chosen for their conscious credentials, like new lighting that offers a five year pay back in energy efficiency.
The project was rooted in functional sustainability. It cannot be philosophical because fundamentally it has to work for the client, and that is what we created with Natara. Sustainability was part of this from day one, not a bolt on but practical solutions that mitigated the impact that the space would have
- David Willson, Director, Quoinstone Property
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The space had to work for people first, but we also knew that things like second-life carpet tiles were an easy choice to lower the impact of the project, while maintaining the energy and aesthetic of the space that would become so fundamental for the team. It was always about doing more with less, and using our years in the industry to offer informed and considered options for Natara to choose what would be best for them.
We create flavours and fragrances predominantly for the global food and beverage industry and natural products (rather than synthetic) are our priority and therefore it’s important that all our business operations are executed with sustainability in mind. The office move was a great opportunity to partner with Rype and Lumybel due to their green credentials, and to show to our employees that sustainability can extend to all aspects of our business, including the desks they use and the chairs they sit on.
- Katie Craddock, HR Director, Natara Global
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A space to call
Home
The project wrapped in March 2026, almost three years after that initial conversation. A happy client, a beautiful space, and a team that were genuinely excited about Monday morning. And when they moved in on May 18th, by 10AM it already felt like home. Coffee in hand, meeting rooms filled, and the sound of the sea whispering in those pockets of quiet.
We can proudly share that this project was given a SKArating of Gold - the highest standard available for this kind of project.
Paul and his team were all highly professional, couldn’t have been more helpful and responsive, hugely knowledgeable, always willing to be pragmatic and creative in seeking solutions. We would be delighted to work with them again.
- Katie Craddock, HR Director, Natara Global
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