Microgaming staff have moved into a new multi-million pound five-storey headquarters in Douglas.

It marks the completion of a project that has taken nearly four years from start to finish.

The actual construction began on the office in April 2015.

Everyone is encouraged to be innovative at the online gaming software giant - and bosses prefer to liken the headquarters to a ’campus’.

Business News spoke to John Coleman, chief financial officer at Microgaming, before being invited on a tour of the building which includes:

A periscope in the reception area giving a 360 degree view of the capital.

A gym, a treatment room and a studio to host weekly fitness classes.

A rooftop garden

The fourth floor is a communal area, featuring a coffee shop called the Watering Hole, a canteen, as well as a darts board, pool tables, a poker table, table tennis and a library for staff to take time out , away from their desks. The library includes all three Isle of Man Newspapers titles.

A "Legends Wall" where staff who have distinguished themselves are remembered.

A library stocked with a range of books.

There are 16 meeting rooms, hot desks and phone booths, as well as plenty of break-out areas on every floor.

There’s even a bubblegum machine, a fun photo booth and more.

Mr Coleman said the old building, which is still in use and is reached by bridge that spans the road, is known as Twenty Six and the new building is known as Sixty Two.

’The bridge is the link between the old building and the new building.’

There are nearly 250 people working between the two buildings. They include staff working with Derivco.

Mr Coleman told Business News: ’I feel an immense amount of pride. When we setout to deliver this project we set ourselves a milestone that if you took this building and you placed it in the middle of London, the middle of New York or the middle of Hong Kong, then this would be a building that would stand on its own and there of its own right. I think you will see that we have achieved it.

’It is also a new way of working here. We have created a lot more collaborative spaces. We are encouraging people to get up from their desks and go out and meet other people in the business, to go out and collaborate elsewhere in the business.’

He said there was a huge focus on the social areas including the coffee shop, the canteen area, and the library.’

He said directors of the business had given some personal books, ’books that mean a lot to us so the other staff can get to know us a bit better too.

He himself had contributed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Mr Coleman spoke of how important he sees the new building is in terms of island business. ’I’d like to think the people of the island realise we have always been committed to the island.

’Now people should have little doubt the island is our home and a place we are very proud to call our home.’

He added there had been an enormous amount of interest from the industry as well as from other business leaders in the island.

Mr Coleman said the headquarters is a ’real statement of intent for the future.’

Interior furnishings were curated by Claire Coleman, who also designed installations such as the reception desk, the scaffold table, Legends Wall, bar front, library and external building sign.

Microgaming is one of the world’s leading software companies in online gaming.