The Hive, North Somerset’s new business development centre, has welcomed three new full tenants in December and January. One Choice Recruitment has taken office space after a six month spell as a virtual tenant, whilst contract furniture supplier Furniture23 and health, safety and environmental consultancy Channel Compliance have also joined The Hive’s busy business community.
The Hive, an enterprise hub from which local businesses can be based, work, do business and enjoy on-site business advice and support from North Somerset Enterprise Agency, has also extended its meeting room menus to offer greater variety and added innovative new furniture to its business lounge where people can meet or work informally.
Channel Compliance, which provides businesses with advice and guidance on all compliance needs alongside training and assessment, moved to The Hive in December after looking for its ideal office and work environment for several years.
“The professionalism of the building and facilities and the flexibility it offers in terms of office space and meeting rooms is fantastic.” says Managing Director Scott Walker. “Whilst we work all over the UK from Edinburgh to Plymouth and London to Belfast, our plan is to grow more locally now within Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset and being located at The Hive is such an excellent foundation for this.
“In addition we have already met with some of our fellow tenants to discuss opportunities and the constant flow of workshops and networking meetings to which we are invited, held both by The Hive and external companies, have also been excellent We have felt looked after and welcomed by The Hive team – in fact this is perfect for us.”
One Choice Recruitment, founded in March 2014 by experienced recruitment specialist Norma Barrant, specialises in finding staff for small units, nursing, residential and care homes across North Somerset, Somerset, Bristol and Bath. Having originally started the business from her Weston-super-Mare home, Norma opened a virtual office at The Hive when it opened in July 2014 and has now taken on a full tenancy.
“I chose The Hive after going to North Somerset Enterprise Agency for a social media course!” explains Norma. “I realised that having The Hive as a virtual office would give me a better presence and a more professional image, which has really worked. Now, as the business and the staff bank is growing, having our own offices means we are more accessible to staff and for clients to visit and see how well the company is progressing.”
Furniture23, a contract dealer specialising in the supply of design-led office furniture products, which was founded in 2006 by Chris Fox, recently relocated to The Hive from a converted barn development to take advantage of what a new-build, serviced office has to offer.
‘We see our move to The Hive as a perfect opportunity to continue our growth and improve our profile locally and nationally with the architecture and interior design community with whom we work, whilst allowing us the flexibility to grow without incurring high relocation costs. We can also concentrate on our core business and not waste valuable time managing a standalone office facility.” explains Chris.
‘In the short-term we are looking to grow our team and recruit a Sales Support person and Operations Manager and believe our impressive, modern, working environment and great staff facilities will help attract new team members.
“We are also already benefitting from the networking opportunities and being part of the vibrant business community which The Hive offers.” Chris concludes.
Since its official opening in July 2014, The Hive, which is owned and operated by North Somerset Enterprise Agency, has been flying high, achieving its occupancy targets and becoming a favoured location for meetings, interviews and training for companies and organisations across the South West.
Now, with a business community taking shape and benefiting from in-house events, networking and more, The Hive is setting its sights on becoming the workspace choice for start-up and growing businesses, forging more links with partners to deliver workshops of interest to tenants and the wider business community and building its newly-found reputation as the place to go for meetings.
“We’re enormously proud that The Hive has been chosen by three fantastic new tenants to be their base and that they are all enjoying being here so much and have found the transition so simple.” says North Somerset Enterprise Agency’s Chief Executive Angela Hicks.
“We were recently showing a new board member around who said that The Hive made him want to start his own business because the building was so desirable and it made doing business easy! That’s exactly how we want The Hive to be viewed, so are delighted. With tenancy levels, business use and conference and meeting bookings all strong, we have high hopes for what we can achieve here at The Hive in 2015.”
