Coreus Named UK’s Best Workplace for Younger Workers

A construction firm with an office in Truro has been named the best place in Britain to work if you are under 35. And the Cornwall side of the business is about to get bigger.

Coreus Group, a construction and property consultancy with an office in Truro, has been named the UK’s best workplace for 16 to 34-year-olds by the Sunday Times. It is the first construction consultancy to win the award.

Beating some familiar names

The accolade came in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards. Coreus took the top spot for younger employees ahead of national brands including Octopus Energy and Brighton & Hove Albion FC.

The company was founded in Exeter in 2019 by entrepreneur Andrew Clancy and has grown from a one-person business into a consultancy of nearly 100 people. It now runs offices in Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, London and Truro.

Growing in Truro

Seven people are based in the Truro office, with a new team member joining in August. There are two live vacancies, and Coreus plans to grow the Truro team to around 10 people by the end of the year. The company puts that down to rising demand for its services across Cornwall and the wider region.

One of the Truro team is Toni Halau, an assistant project manager who is completing his studies at the University of Plymouth while building his career with the firm.

Several Cornwall projects are coming up. Coreus is working on the Pydar regeneration in Truro, providing project management, quantity surveying, energy and sustainability and utilities services. It is also supporting a range of projects across the Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust estate, delivering consultancy work for the Cornwall College Group, and supporting Langarth Garden Village, one of Cornwall’s most significant housing and community developments.

What got them the award

Coreus offers unlimited holiday, flexible working and rapid career progression. Its offices have collaborative breakout spaces, communal lunches and social areas built to encourage a more connected culture.

Around 70% of the workforce is aged between 16 and 40. Apprentices make up 10% of staff, and 33% are women.

Founder Andrew Clancy said the firm was built to be somewhere people genuinely want to work. “But what I’m proudest of is seeing younger people step into leadership positions, building careers far quicker than would traditionally have happened in this industry,” he said.

He added that traditional industries still run on old assumptions about hierarchy and career progression, and that younger people will no longer tolerate that.

Managing director James Colthart said younger generations now expect openness, flexibility, purpose and real chances to progress. “We have created a culture where people are trusted early, supported properly and given real responsibility regardless of age,” he said.