Bracknell businesses buck the trend

Entrepreneurs and start-up companies are bucking the national trend and thriving at the Crowthorne Enterprise Centre near Bracknell. The centre provides flexible and professional managed offices, and virtual office facilities, designed for new and growing companies.

Vision4ce has expanded fivefold since taking office space in 2008 at the Crowthorne Centre. A specialist in electro-optical system management hardware, software and integration services for use in harsh environments, Vision4ce manufactures and supplies computer equipment specifically designed for successful operation in extreme conditions, with clients including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Gordon Cain, Vision4ce managing director, highlights the flexibility offered by the Crowthorne Centre as not only a prime reason for the company taking office space, but also helping to enable its rapid expansion. Since moving into the centre, Vision4ce has expanded to occupy three offices.

“When investigating our options for premises, we initially looked at traditional leasing arrangements. But we wanted the ability to take more space as and when we needed it, as the company expanded, and so the option to take further offices at the Crowthorne Centre at short notice and little risk was very attractive,” Mr Cain says. “The other beauty for us is security. There are lots of people around, and guards on the gate. I am always comfortable that our premises are secure – and that it’s something else that I don’t have to worry about.”

Companies can move in to the centre and start trading straight away. All accommodation is taken on a flexible letting agreement so there is none of the risk associated with taking out a regular commercial lease for a number of years. Companies can take space on a temporary basis –if they require an office for a project-related sales team for example.
The Crowthorne Enterprise Centre’s tenants benefit from fully serviced offices. The transparent pricing structure includes all rent, business rates, heating and lighting. All offices are fully Cat 5 cabled, with a full broadband service available. The centre has a smart and professional reception area, with phone calls answered in each company’s name, and there are a number of meeting and conference rooms available for hourly or daily hire.

Qmer Chartered Accountants took offices at the centre last summer. For managing director, Stephen Pearce, the professional front of house at the centre is a big plus. “The switchboard and reception facilities are excellent. As a growing firm we are often out visiting clients. Knowing that our phones are answered, and any deliveries dealt with even if none of our staff are in the office, is always very reassuring.”

As a professional firm, Qmer requires a similar approach for anyone dealing with clients. “We are impressed with the support provided at the Crowthorne Centre and have been comfortable right from the start that clients gain the right impression when they contact the office,” Mr Pearce says. “And, as tenants, the centre is extremely competitive in terms of cost, and with little long-term risk.”

He also highlights the positive atmosphere at the centre that comes from having so many young and growing companies located in the same place. “In a traditional tenanted office, you can sometimes find yourself in a building or even a business estate on your own –especially at the moment when there is so much space available – but not here. It is a really vibrant place to work,” Mr Pearce says. And companies located at the centre have the chance to take advantage of this at the regular networking events – whether just to exchange ideas or to develop mutually beneficial business relationships.

The Crowthorne Centre is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and throughout the past decade the focus has always been on supporting start up and growing companies. Centre manager, Janet Humphrey, says: “We want the companies located here to be able to concentrate on their businesses and let us deal with the necessary support infrastructure.”

Ms Humphrey highlights the centre’s virtual office package, something that can be especially helpful for very young companies not yet ready to take on dedicated premises. “We can provide a direct dial telephone number with calls answered in the company name, a mailing address and forwarding service, the company name displayed in our reception and discounts on use of our meeting rooms when required.”

Once they are ready to do so, of course, companies with virtual offices can take up the real thing and join the 44 businesses now growing at the Crowthorne Enterprise Centre.