CUSTOMER SERVICE: The team at Ocean Village Innovation Centre, Southampton. From left, centre support assistants Hannah Fray and Caroline O’Neill with centre manager Stephen Deller and assistant centre manager Jess Williams. The serviced offices hub has 46 companies on site. Four have recently upsized on site due to expansion, with occupancy now at 92%.
James Fisher Prolec, Provision Events, Benz Travel and Foresight Data are the latest businesses taking additional office space at Ocean Village Innovation Centre (OVIC).
The thriving business hub is now almost full, with 92% of space taken up by 46 innovative early-stage companies.
OVIC Centre Manager Stephen Deller said: “We’ve never known so many firms upsize their workspaces in such a short period, saving themselves considerable time and money in searching for new locations elsewhere in the city region.
“There are up to 300 people at OVIC at any one time, with fantastic exchanges of ideas, tips and recommendations between occupiers, some of which trade with one another as part of a flourishing business ecosystem.”
James Fisher Prolec, which supplies machine productivity and safety systems for construction equipment, now has an office for up to 20 people.
Headquartered in Poole, Dorset, the company arrived at OVIC only nine months ago [May 2018] with a four-person office. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, and demand for their systems continues to rise.
Provision Events, which conceives, designs, builds and manages sports event space for large international brand clients, doubled the size of their space to 14 desks within six months of arriving.
Co-founded by Nick Clemens, an ex PGA golf professional, and Konrad Brochocki, Provision Events also offers a broad range of ready-to-hire sports simulators, including golf, tennis and football.
Benz Travel, with a head office in London, has also doubled their footprint. Within two months of arrival the tour company has grown, to a five-desk office, due to the continued growth of opportunities relating to the UK’s £9 billion cruise industry.
The final company, Foresight Data, doubled work stations to four within a year. Run by Managing Director, Dave Scott the consultancy business specialises in forecasting and customer insight for companies who have a recurring relationship with their customers.
Working with clients primarily in the publishing industry, Dave and his team have built and developed a suite of highly accurate forecasting and lifetime value products which have become increasingly popular, requiring Foresight to expand their team.
Stephen continues: “The innovation taking place here at OVIC is inspirational – occupiers are constantly challenging themselves to be at the forefront of their respective markets. It makes for a business hub where enterprise thrives and is celebrated.”
Managed by Oxford Innovation, OVIC provides offices and meeting facilities for start-ups, early-stage firms and outsourced businesses in a supportive easy-in, easy-out environment, with all-inclusive packages, competitive prices and in-house business support by Innovation Director, Richard May.
Interested in joining the business community at OVIC? Call us on 023 8038 1920 or visit oceanvillage-ic.co.uk to find out more.
