Elephant Auto Insurance to relocate to a larger space in Henrico

Elephant Insurance Services LLC is moving its U.S. headquarters to a larger space in Henrico County.

CBRE|Richmond said Monday that the company will relocate to 54,549 square feet of space in the Deep Run I building at 9950 Mayland Drive. One of the buildings that used to be part of the headquarters for the now defunct Circuit City Stores, Deep Run 1 is now home to home to Allianz Global Assistance, which leases four of the building’s five floors. 

According to CBRE, the move will increase Elephant’s space by nearly 25,000 square feet, allowing the company to nearly double its workforce in the next few years to more than 600 people. Today, about 350 local employees work for Elephant.

Elephant is currently located a few miles away in Glen Allen. Its a subsidiary of Wales-based Admiral Group PLC.

CBRE said Elephant chose 9950 Mayland Drive because of its prime location off Interstate 64 near Broad Street, an open, single-floor layout critical for the company’s fun-based collaborative working culture and the nearby conveniences, which include shopping, hotels and restaurants.

The building’s amenities were another draw. They include a fitness facility, café, coffee shop, meeting space and back-up power infrastructure.

“Elephant is excited to announce that we are relocating our Richmond headquarters to a larger corporate space only a few miles down the road,” Tim MacAleese, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a statement. “Our business growth has been strong the past few years, and we expect that to continue.”

Elephant plans to move into the new space in early December and to be fully operational by February 2015.  As a direct-to-consumer auto insurance company, it began operations in the Innsbrook area with about 40 people in 2009.

CBRE|Richmond represented Elephant Auto Insurance with the lease transaction handled by Scott Durham, senior vice president. His team includes Charles Bennett, director of construction management, who will lead the project through construction and move-in.