Inside Autotrader’s New Manchester Offices

Automotive marketplace Autotrader hired workplace design firm Oktra to design their new office in Manchester, England.

The brief was clear: Autotrader wanted a workplace that felt new, something its people hadn’t seen before, while keeping the familiarity that defines the company’s culture. The office had to push boundaries and still feel recognisably Autotrader, introducing the unexpected without losing the sense of being intuitive and easy to read.

The design team responded with a spatial narrative that unfolds as people move through the space. Rather than a static office, the headquarters is experienced as a sequence of moments, with architecture, circulation and carefully placed landmarks guiding employees and visitors along the way.

The journey begins in a dedicated arrival space defined by cars suspended overhead. From there, three sculptural staircases, carved from voids retained in the building’s original structure, connect the floors and embed the brand’s identity in the fabric of the building. Each working floor has its own distinct character.

Two ideas underpin the concept: fuel and landmark. Fuel stands for the energy behind the organisation. The workplace is designed to power Autotrader’s people throughout the day, with a wide range of settings that let them move between focused work, collaboration and social time, matching the pace of a digital technology company. Landmarks, such as the suspended vehicles and the staircases, give people clear points of reference as they move through the building.

The result works as both a workplace and a statement: an environment that reflects how Autotrader works today and signals where the company is heading next.

• Location: Manchester, England
• Date completed: 2026
• Size: 130,000 square feet
• Design: Oktra