A company, which started life as a virtual office tenant at Friar Gate Studios has become the first business to agree to a pre-let at Sadler Bridge Studios, the new purpose-designed facility for the creative industries, after receiving a £29,544 grant from the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund.
Design and digital solutions specialists BinaryFold4 have agreed a three year pre-let on an 837 sq ft office facility at the Studios, which are being developed on the site of the former Princes Supermarket on Bold Lane in Derby.
Since starting life in 2009 with a virtual office package at Friar Gate Studios, the company has enjoyed significant growth, expanding first to its own dedicated office unit within the Studios’ creative community and then moving to larger accommodation in order to accommodate its rapid growth.
The support from DEGF has enabled BinaryFold4 to establish a new sister company, BinaryFold4 Labs, which will be launching a new Device Lab at Sadler Bridge Studios, with the creation of two new jobs.
The new Device Lab, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the Midlands, will consist of a range of consumer electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and games consoles upon which a variety of software, apps and websites can be tested.
The Lab will be of use to a range of IT and creative companies who need to test apps on devices but can’t justify the expense of buying a range of up-to-date devices for testing.
Commenting on BinaryFold4’s forthcoming move to Sadler Bridge Studios, Ann Bhatti, centre manager at Friar Gate Studios, said:
“Over the past five years, we have witnessed BinaryFold4’s growth from virtual office to the tenant of one of the prime office units within Sadler Bridge Studios, which is a tremendous achievement.
“Sadler Bridge Studios is due for completion by late Spring, ready for occupation on 1 June 2014. We have had an unprecedented level of interest in the building and will be announcing further pre-lets shortly.”
The £20 million Derby Enterprise Growth Derby Enterprise Growth Fund (DEGF) is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. Run by Derby City Council, DEGF aims to support growth and job creation in businesses in the city and surrounding area through a mix of loans and grants.
Sadler Bridge Studios is a new £4.4m purpose-built, city centre facility for the creative industries. The Studios will target the creative sector and are seen as the first step in a creative business’s development, before they move to Friar Gate Studios.
They will be ideal for new start-ups, sole traders who may have been working from home and are ready to move to a commercial setting, and graduates from University of Derby, which has a strong creative faculty.
Connect Derby sees Derby City Council’s workspaces, namely Friar Gate Studios, Kings Chambers on Queen Street, the new Sadler Bridge Studios on Bold Lane, the Shot Tower and the former Magistrate’s Court on Full Street, under one banner in a £14.2m project to create jobs for local people.
The scheme will provide micro businesses, entrepreneurs and SME’s with the working environment, IT infrastructure and business support they need to improve business survival rates and act as a catalyst for expansion and growth.
£7.3 million of the capital funding for the scheme has been secured through external grants from the European Regional Development Fund, with the remainder coming from The Derby City Council Regeneration Fund.
