Quorum's new SME offer has been paying dividends, as the Qeleven semi serviced suites start leasing
Quorum Business Park in North Newcastle, has always been known for the larger occupiers. It is home to the Greggs PLC headquarters and a range of other major employers including Tesco Bank, Convergys and Balfour Beatty. The 25 businesses at the park employ over 6,000 staff on site between them. However Quorum has also been catering for smaller occupiers. The SME market sector in Newcastle has been more robust with good levels of demand in the sub 10,000sqft size range. Responding to this, a number of smaller units have been created at Quorum, particularly with the recently launched Qeleven suites.
These offer space from units of 535sqft (for 6 to 8 people) upwards with a range of different sized units available up to 4,392sqft, to accommodate 45 to 50 people. 3 of the units have already been taken, with International building consultancy Gleeds to be the first to take occupation. Newcastle has seen a burst of tech companies outgrowing incubators and serviced offices and looking for semi managed small workspaces. With city centre supply restricted and rents increasing, many are looking at the cost advantage of being on the edge of town, where flexible leases, generous car parking and a range of on-site events and amenities are available. The table tennis table and BBQ area just outside the building have been popular through the summer months. The ability for a growing company to upscale is also important. Being located on a park majority owned by a single major investor, offers the ability to walk away from existing lease commitments to take larger spaces. This ability to upscale without having to worry about disposing of the end of leases is a major advantage.
The Qeleven units benefit from high speed internet connectivity. Quorum have partnered with Apire, a locally based IT support company and have installed the necessary IT infrastructure to ensure that new occupiers can quickly plug in to services offering superfast connectivity. The suites also offer a range of meeting rooms, so individual occupiers don’t need to put meeting rooms into their own space. The 4 meeting rooms are of different sizes, with 2 smaller meeting rooms on a free to use basis, while two larger ten and fourteen seater rooms can be booked by the hour. These have presentation equipment, conference call facilities and supplied with freshly made teas and filter coffee. The suites are looked after by Claire, who provides a range of reception and concierge services. These range from booking taxis, organising dry cleaning to organising business lunches for occupiers. Claire also supports the meeting rooms, organising bookings and providing the all-important teas and coffees.
www.quorumbusiness.co.uk
