Needspace? focuses on providing entrepreneurial communities for the growing number of SMEs across London and the South East. It owns and operates six business centres providing a range of offices, workshops and studios on flexible terms.
NEEDSPACE? IS PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE NOW PROVIDE MANAGED SPACE TO OVER 160 SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF SECTORS WHICH IN TURN EMPLOY OVER 850 PEOPLE.
Despite the concerns on how Brexit might impact SMEs and occupier demand in London and the South East there continued to be strong demand for our quality spaces which we price competitively. This led to a record performance from the Needspace? business in 2016. Turnover increased by nearly 20% to £2.75m, meanwhile profit before valuation rose 43% of £961k.
The strong performance was mainly as a result of sustained high levels of occupancy at Clapham North Art Centre which has been full for over 18 months and continued growth at St. Marks Studios in Islington which benefited from its first full year of trading and ended the year at 98% occupancy. Our portfolio outside London also performed well with occupancy increasing at both Horsham and Crawley. Total portfolio occupancy rose 4% to 85%.
Needspace? is proud of the fact that we now provide managed space to over 160 small businesses across a broad range of sectors which in turn employ over 850 people. The business continues to search for new properties, with a particular focus on London and in 2017 will occupy a new property in Clerkenwell.
CASE STUDIES
NICKO TOYS AND ASHDOWN HOME STORES...
BALANCING THE NEEDS OF TWO BURGEONING BUSINESSES
NEEDSPACE? COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE HELPFUL; THE MOVE WASN’T AT ALL STRESSFUL AND WE’VE SETTLED IN QUICKLY. IT’S REALLY HANDY FOR THE STATION AND THERE’S PARKING, BOTH OF WHICH WILL HELP WITH OUR NEXT STEP, WHEN I’LL BE LOOKING TO RECRUIT A NEW PART TIME MEMBER OF STAFF AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW.
Needspace? was delighted in December to welcome entrepreneur Simon Nickols to “ a four workstation office in Crawley Business Centre, from which he will be running his home fixtures and fittings retailer, Ashdown Home Stores, and Nicko Toys. This follows a move from his own local premises as the businesses expand.
“Nicko Toys imports a range of children’s wooden balance bikes and trikes, perfect for teaching young children the basics of balancing without stabilsers so when it’s time to upgrade to a real bike, it’s easy and fun – not to mention less stressful for parents! We receive containers of 3,000 bikes a time, and the business has now grown to the point where it’s beyond what I can practicably manage myself so I took the decision to outsource the warehousing and order processing to a fulfilment house.
“My own premises are very local, but with no current need for the warehouse now, I needed to let my office together with it. I was able to find a tenant very quickly, but I needed to find a new office for myself equally fast! Fortunately, Crawley Business Centre is really close and it was the first and only one I needed to see; I was sold immediately. It’s nice and smart, and having the receptionist was a real draw as it means I’m not tied to the office for deliveries and collections."
Simon has also located his other business at Crawley, Ashdown Home Store, a specialist online retailer of a range of home fixtures and fittings including kitchen and bathroom taps, showers, light switches and plug sockets.
More information: nickotoys.co.uk or ashdownhomestore.co.uk
