Robert Nicholas came to BASE Bordon for room to grow. What followed was an introduction to Innovate UK Business Growth that helped the company sharpen its focus, secure funding and plan for its next stage.
When Rob Thallon moved into BASE Bordon Innovation Centre, his business needed more space.
Robert Nicholas was growing. The team needed room. The work was there.
But as the company developed, Rob could see that the next challenge was not just delivering more projects. It was building the business in a more deliberate way.
Robert Nicholas is a specialist civil engineering company working in live water environments across the UK. The business helps clients carry out work below the waterline on projects including bridges, culverts, flood defences and drainage schemes.
Rob knew the technical side of the business well. What he wanted was stronger support around structure, focus and future growth.
A local introduction to wider support
Through the business support available at BASE Bordon, Rob was introduced to Innovate UK Business Growth through Oxford Innovation’s partnership network.
That led to work with Innovate UK adviser Richard Butcher, who helped Rob and his team take a closer look at the business itself.
Where was the real value?
Which parts were worth building around?
What had the company created that needed better protection?
That support helped the business move from simply keeping up with demand to making clearer choices about where to focus next.
What changed
One of the biggest shifts was focus.
Like many growing businesses, Robert Nicholas had built momentum by solving problems, winning work and delivering projects. That gets you a long way, but it can also keep you busy without always making it clear what is creating the most value.
The support helped the business focus more sharply on its strongest specialist offer: temporary systems in water environments.
It also helped improve how the business looked at financial performance, growth, profitability and intellectual property.
The IP support has been particularly valuable. The company secured funding for an IP audit, which helped identify how to protect the value of products it had designed. As a result, Robert Nicholas is now in the process of patenting products it plans to manufacture in the future. Following a further introduction, the business is also receiving manufacturing advice from Made Smarter.
The results
Over the past two years, Robert Nicholas has:
- achieved 22% turnover growth
- secured four grants worth more than £50,000
- secured funding for an IP audit, leading to patent activity for products it has designed
- joined Innovate UK’s Scaleup Programme
- started preparing for its first equity raise
- accessed manufacturing advice through Made Smarter
The grant funding made a practical difference, creating room to progress development work that may otherwise have been delayed.
Rob describes the impact simply:
“It really has transformed the business.”
Why BASE Bordon mattered
This did not come from a long search.
It started because Rob was based somewhere where business support was visible, accessible and close to hand.
As Rob put it:
“You don’t have to go anywhere to look for it here. You can go downstairs and talk to someone.”
That is the value of having support built into the centre environment. The right conversation can lead to the right introduction, and the right introduction can open up opportunities that may otherwise be missed.
More than workspace
Robert Nicholas came to BASE Bordon for space.
What followed was access to wider support that helped the business sharpen its focus, protect more of what it had built, secure funding and prepare for its next stage of growth.
For a growing business, that can change more than its address.
Find out more
If you are looking for office space in Bordon with practical business support built in, BASE Bordon Innovation Centre offers flexible workspace alongside access to advice, connections and growth opportunities.
Book a tour or speak to the team about workspace and business support at BASE Bordon. You can call us on 01420 550980, email us at info@basebordon.co.uk or visit our website and complete the enquiry form at www.basebordon.co.uk/contact/