Remember, Remember the 5th of November…
Isn’t it funny how certain dates stick in your mind?
In the world of business we know that causing a splash, and being remembered is pretty important, and that creativity, innovation and giving folks something to talk about is often the way we achieve that.
So when the Team at Broxbourne Enterprise centres thought about how they wanted to mark the 1 year anniversary of running our two centres (Hoddesdon Enterprise Centre and Theobalds Enterprise Centres) on the 5th November no less.
We knew we wanted to make a BANG…and give our bright sparks (i.e. our businesses and our wider community) a celebration to remember.
The Future is Bright…
The celebrations started first thing with a VIP brunch at Hoddesdon enterprise Centres, where our customers were joined by members of Broxbourne Council, including the Leader Mark Mills Bishop and Cllr Steve Wortley Cabinet member for Economic Growth and Regeneration. Also in attendance was Tim Smith, Deputy Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Space, the company who operates the two sites, and 31 other innovation centres across the UK.
Leader of Broxbourne Council commented
“The centre is just as vibrant, bright and clean as when I opened it 8 years ago, and it is brilliant to see younger up and coming entrepreneurs finding their feet here”
We took over the operations for this centre from a different provider, and have worked hard to update it and breathe new life into the community aspects of what we do across our two centres in our “Two buildings, one community” approach.
Tim Smith said,
“We salute the brave business owners who are innovating and leading the way here in Broxbourne”
We also heard from Simon Stevens Founder of VOW Nutrition who are based at our Theobalds site, but is himself a Hoddesdon born and bred business owner. He shared his story of scaling his venture which started life in a storage unit during the pandemic, and just how fundamental the support he has received since moving into Theobalds has been to his growing sports nutrition brand.
“I still have to pinch myself when I think about what we have achieved in the last 12 months, sponsoring Team GB at the Olympics in Paris has helped us to attract new distributors and major brands to our products, and the team at BEC have been so supportive of our growth”
Luxury Fashion Influencer Oli from Affluent Archives moved into the Hoddesdon centre just 5 months ago unsure of what having his own office space would mean for his fledgling business, but he has already moved into a bigger office, and now has a studio for shooting videos, and is thinking BIGGER and BIGGER all the time.
“I come into work on my business everyday buzzing to see my venture grow, and the team here are always on hand to help me, it’s been brilliant”
We also heard from Hayley from Trevor Jones Accountancy a firm that next year is celebrating their 28th anniversary. The team of 6 moved into Hoddesdon Enterprise Centre in March 2024, from a different site in the Broxbourne area, and couldn’t be happier.
Food was provided by local company Crystal Catering…and was delicious!!!
Launch of Broxbourne Creative Network…
At 3pm over at Theobalds Centre in Chesthunt, working in partnership with Broxbourne Councils new Arts Development Assistant Louise Sterling Jackman we launched the start of a brand new network for local creatives, and saw more than 60 creative business owners register and attend, everything from graffiti artists, to DJ’s, graphic designers, to authors…and a lot more besides.
With shorts talks from Hertfordshire Growth Hub, Hertfordshire Film Office, Louise and Innovation Director Julie Creffield about the importance of this sector to the local economy, and the importance of creativity, innovation and of course profitability for local creative business owners.
Business owners got a chance to share what they would like to see happen over the next few years as major developments take place, like the opening of Googles Data Centre (our closest neighbour) and the hotly anticipated build of nearby Sunset Studios which will be 5 minutes down the road.
To find out more about the network and what our plans are for 2025 get in touch with Louise louise.jackman@broxbourne.gov.uk
At Broxbourne Enterprise Centres we know just how important creatives are so do come and take advantage of our Freelancer Friday scheme, where you can come and use our co-working facilities at either centre on a Friday (first visit is completely FREE)
Sparks will Fly
But as the darkness fell over the skyline of Broxbourne, Theobalds came alive.
The space was transformed into a glittering, neon glow, sparkling party venue, with red carpet entryway, a drinks reception, stunning food from local supplier Soka and of course lets not forget the EPIC “Disco Head” dancers who causes quite the stir.
Music was provided by latest customers to Theobalds Enterprise Centre, LoveLife Radio, veteran of the UKs dance music scene who have relocated their station to one of our ground floor workshop spaces and from this weekend will be broadcasting live.
DJ Ramsey said,
We can’t wait to get involved with the BEC community, local radio and music have always played a big part in bringing people together, and supporting the night-time economy and the events industry..which as you can see, help hard working business owners let their hair down from time to time”
By 5pm the dance floor was full, drinks were flowing, food was being enjoyed and the marketplace upstairs in our conference suite where our customers and other local partners were networking and sharing information and samples from their business was in full flow.
With a rallying speech from the new Mayor of Broxbourne Councillor Sherrie McDaid, and Deputy Managing Director Tim Smith sharing his thoughts a year on, including a lovely story about one of our customers The Female Accountant. who he met by chance in the kitchens earlier that day. We also heard from Simon Stevens again who had brough his family along to the event, and May Balogun founder of luxury cake and party decor company MoureaRosa who provided the beautiful balloon displays across the centre.
The love and appreciation for the community that has been formed over the past year was infectious…and it was a delight to see so many of our customers from both sites come to enjoy the celebrations and get to know each other better in this informal setting.
The final words have to go to Dual Centre Manager Zoe Galea who said on the night,
“I remember when it was just me in this BIG brand spanking new centre…I knew that we could create something quite magical across these 2 sites, and today has reminded us all of the power of community, connection, collaboration and creativity…here’s to the next 12 months”
Some stats from our first 12 months…
- BEC centres have welcomed more than 2,500 visitors
- We manage/house 56 (and growing) companies across our 2 sites, with 250+ employees
- 5% of customers have upgraded and moved into a larger space in the past 6 months due to growth, and a further 3% are currently negotiating larger spaces at BEC
- In our 2024 customer satisfaction survey 100% of TEC customers reported that they were satisfied, and 93% of HEC customers reported the same, but with lots of comments about improved service, and a nicer working environment since OI took over.
- 77 jobs have been created in the past 12 months across our 2 centres
- 500+ individuals have attended one of our business training events
- We have supported the creation of 5 new companies
- Supported 100+ freelancers
- 1 in 3 solopreneurs who took part in our try before you buy scheme went on to take up paid coworking or a dedicated desk space
Some massive Thank Yous….
The success of the last 12 months could not have been achieved without the hard work and dedication of many many different partners, too may people to mention here, but a big thank you must go out to
- Our client Broxbourne Council
- Oxford Innovation Space Central, Commercial & Business Support Team
- The amazing staff at Hoddesdon and Theobalds
- All of our suppliers, contractors and partners
- All of our customers and freelancers
- The wider business ecosystem in Hertfordshire
Get in touch if you would like to take a tour of one of our sites, or attend one of our Community Club events which are open to our customers and our wider ecosystem of stakeholders, local business owners, freelancers and the local community
