A successful North East trend forecasting agency is predicting future business expansion after investing in its own Newcastle offices for the first time.
TrendBible delivers a range of products and services that give clients a detailed insight into how the future of life at home will be in two to five years’ time, enabling them to develop and shape their future customer offerings in response.
Having been based in rented space in Ouseburn for the last ten years, the company has now purchased a three-storey office on Leazes Park Road in central Newcastle.
The 2,000 sq ft space has been designed to provide a flexible base for members of the growing, 22-strong TrendBible team to use when they need it, while also being big enough to accommodate the whole team when it comes together for quarterly company ‘connection’ events.
The business is also planning to use its new base to provide more opportunities for local young people to break into an industry that they would previously have had to leave the region to work in.
Julie Cuthbertson, corporate finance manager at long-term advisors RMT Accountants and Business Advisors, worked with the TrendBible management team on identifying the new property and bringing in the capital to complete the purchase.
TrendBible works across the UK, US and northern Europe with dozens of household name clients, including Lego, Target, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s, and specialises in the homes and interiors, gifting and family sectors.
It recorded a £1m annual turnover last year, taking it back to pre-pandemic business levels, and is looking to treble this figure over the next three years, with an increased focus on new markets including the US and the Middle East.
Over the last three years, TrendBible has pivoted from providing physical trend forecasting information to a digital offering, making it easier for client teams to access it whether they’re working in an office or remotely, and has also launch a successful subscription-based model for its services.
Joanna Feeley, founder and CEO of TrendBible, says: “We have a fully flexible working model, with our team members often working from home or from outside the region, but we still needed a space that could accommodate some or all of them as the need arises, as well as provide room for future new recruits.
“Buying our own office gives us a solid base from which to grow, and also underpins our position as a North East born-and-bred business that’s here for the long term.
“I had to move away from the region to get my start in forecasting, and with a huge regional talent pool for us to access, we want to make sure there are opportunities for talented local young people to stay here and still build careers in an exciting and ever-changing industry.
“Leazes Park Road is a really buzzy central location with excellent transport links, which are especially important for our younger team members who don’t drive, and gives us all the flexibility we need as we take the business forward.
“RMT’s long-term advice and guidance has been pivotal towards the business’s continuing development, and the team’s local knowledge, market insight and practical assistance has had an amazing impact on reaching the outcome we wanted to this project.”
Julie Cuthbertson of RMT Accountants and Business Advisors adds: “TrendBible is successfully applying North East knowledge and insight in markets right around the world and has built up a client base that any competitor would envy.
“We’re very pleased to be playing our part in the continuing success of this exciting business and to be helping it further reinforce its commitment to the region with this property acquisition.”
www.r-m-t.co.uk