Here at BASE Bordon Innovation Centre we are celebrating our five year anniversary and despite the challenges of the last couple of years, it’s been a really exciting journey that has so far included supporting 79 SMEs and start-ups across sectors including professional services, digital and technology businesses as well as aerospace.
Since opening in 2017, the innovation centre has offered flexible private offices, co-working and meeting spaces for individuals, small teams, as well as those looking to grow their teams and services, with the goal being to move to premises of their own one day. More recently as some businesses have moved away from having a head office, we have also seen an increase in people wanting shared office space to split their week between homeworking and feeling part of an office community.
To celebrate in style, we held a celebratory afternoon that was attended by over 60 people including current and former customers. Névé Studios, who have a studio here at BASE kindly took photographs as guests enjoyed mingling, sharing success stories and of course some delicious cake. This was very much a celebration of not only the last five years, but also the fact that events like this had not happened in such a long time and were always such a fundamental part of life at BASE.
Sarah Hall, Business Growth Manager at BASE said: “The celebration was exactly that. It was so nice to see people coming together and celebrating their growth and their journey as a business owner in a space where they have felt supported. It was lovely to hear some of the speakers talk about the support they have received in the centre as well how the businesses have supported each other over the last five years.”
She added: “ It felt great to be part of this and to spend time with old and new customers as well as local organisations who are very much part of the ecosystem for the centre. I can’t wait for the next five years where we will be focusing on more events at the centre and providing a support network for existing and new customers.”
To mark the occasion we asked for some personal perspectives of current and former customers that we have shared below;
Matthew Jenson, MD, Fraiserline
“We came into BASE just before the pandemic with a vision for a new way of working, unlike traditional practices. As a small business, the ability to be nimble, agile, flexible yet innovative when servicing our client network was utmost important. Our projects are based in a variety of locations and sometimes internationally so having a community of like-minded businesses is a great resource for our growth strategy.”
Doug Liddle, CEO, In‑Space Missions Ltd
“During our three and a half years at BASE we grew from being a two-man band to a twenty person team and secured over £20m pounds worth of contracts. The flexible, scalable ecosystem that came along with being part of BASE provided the facilities, support staff, business support and introductions that were vital for In-Space’s growth. “
He added: “Since leaving BASE and moving to Alton, we’ve scaled up to 75 people (many of whom we’ve recruited locally), and are currently building five satellites, as well as another two in Cornwall that are ready to go up on the first ever UK launch.”
Barry Fisher, Director, Pivale
“Our contacts and clients that visit us are impressed with the history of the building. Period features have been tastefully preserved and are a joy to look at every day. These reminders of the building’s history blend with the ultra-modern refit suitable for doing business in the 21st century. It keeps us grounded with the sense of history around us, but the facilities here also keep us well-equipped to create a little piece of history of our own. We look forward to whatever the next 5 years bring.”
Interested in joining us? Contact us