Tuesday 28th April saw the official launch of UBCUK’s new Birchwood Business Centre at Rutherford House, based in Birchwood Park near Warrington.
To mark the occasion, UBC held a business launch party with lunch, wine tasting and open networking. Stewart Leahy of Design Mechanics gave an informative talk on digital marketing, and a fundraising raffle was also held in aid of UBC’s chosen charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Richard Johnson, UBC’s Property and Acquisitions Director (pictured, second from left) introduced approximately 50 local businesspeople and serviced office agents to the new centre with an opening address, in which he welcomed attendees and spoke of the significance of UBC’s newest business location.
Team UBC at Rutherford House, Birchwood
“Rutherford House is UBC’s 10th business centre, enhancing our established network of business centres in key locations across the south, the midlands, and more locally here in the North West,” he said.
Scientific developments at Birchwood
Richard explained that Birchwood Park has always been a “great place to do business” – with a long and varied enterprise history spanning vegetable farming, weapons production for World War II, and nuclear engineering. The Park still has a close alliance with scientific development, having accommodated companies from the fields of R&D and sustainable energy.
“Today we are very proud to be in the company of names such as Dalton, Faraday, Walton, Chadwick and of course Rutherford” who, as Richard explained, played key roles in discovering the structure of the atom and pioneering modern atomic theory.
“As a company, UBC doesn’t know a great deal about splitting atoms, but we do know a lot about running a business centre and supporting our clients. We are also very familiar with Warrington, having operated business centres in Gemini and Daresbury Park since 2008.
“For us it was a natural progression to move onto Birchwood Park, a move that has made even more sense in light of the recent successes of the region in terms of business growth, employment levels and the availability of a skilled and educated workforce” (Read more about these findings here)
“Great success”
UBCUK’s new business centre spans the entire first floor of Rutherford House, providing just under 14,500 sq ft of flexible workspace with furnished serviced offices, meeting rooms, IT and telecoms provision and a fully staffed reception area.
“10 new clients have already made Rutherford House their home, totalling nearly 90 desks, so we feel very confident that Rutherford House is going to be a great success for us – and local businesses – in the coming years.”
Stuart Leahy from Design Mechanics (pictured below) then took to the stage with an eye-opening talk on how to convert web-browsers into customers, offering a glimpse into the psychology of web users and delivering a very different outlook on web design for lead creation.
Stewart Leahy, Design Mechanics
During his talk, Stuart explained that only 2% of browsers are actually ready to buy. Therefore it’s important to build websites that don’t just focus on that 2% minority, but also aim to create ‘warm leads’ that can be nurtured over time.
He elaborated on the importance of combining web data capture with other marketing media such as emarketing.
Later, UBCUK Customer Service Manager Helen Beddows held a raffle with a fantastic range of donated prizes, which raised £90 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The event concluded with a wine tasting session and an opportunity for attendees to network over lunch.
