Coventry is a dynamic city; winning the coveted UK City of Culture designation is no mean feat but it is a title befitting a city that’s steeped in industry, arts and culture and where the private and public sectors work in partnership to achieve great things. Coventry is moving with the times and that makes it a very exciting location for any business. Staying ahead of the game is only possible with investment and Coventry has this in abundance. It is undertaking major regeneration, a precedent set by the award winning Phoenix Initiative and continued through the City Centre South scheme, which will comprise new public realm, events space, leisure, retail and residential schemes.
In another major coup for the city, earlier this year the West Midlands Gigafactory joint venture received the green light for a new Gigafactory, which will result in £2.5bn worth of investment and create 6,000 new highly skilled jobs in the city. Coventry is at the forefront of pioneering investments and as such, businesses are looking to set up shop in this great city.
These businesses need office space and we’re very proud to be at the heart of this market. Our development, Friars House, is a fully refurbished 11-storey office scheme offering businesses space ranging from 3,128 sq ft to 13,760 sq ft. Whether a business’ office needs are short or long term, just one desk or an entire floor, Friars House has it all; our ethos is that businesses’ needs vary and we want to bring diversity to the market to cater to all.
The benefits of flexible office space
In June last year we launched with our new dedicated serviced office provider, FigFlex, at Friars House, providing local businesses with a brand new class of flexible serviced office space. FigFlex was created in response to an appetite amongst our customers and the market for a friendly, more convenient and flexible approach to office-based working and the response we have had from businesses in Coventry has been amazing.
Friars House was one of FigFlex’s first locations in the UK and provides options for co-working, giving start-ups and freelancers the space to work alongside like-minded professionals in a productive, cost-effective and productive environment. FigFlex at Friars House offers meeting rooms, virtual offices and serviced offices.
Staying connected
As with most of the UK’s great cities, one of Coventry’s biggest selling points is its connectivity, a main feature of which is its location on the West coast mainline connecting it to neighbouring West Midlands cities with regular services to London. But Coventry’s connectivity is transforming.
Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR), Coventry’s pioneering new affordable light rail system is a project designed to create an affordable equivalent to a tram system for the city that reduces car use and improves air quality. Very much in its early stages, this amazing project is so exciting for the city but it perfectly captures the collaborative spirit in Coventry. It is being created by Coventry City Council in collaboration with WMG at the University of Warwick, Transport for West Midlands, Dudley Council and the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation and is being funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Coventry City Council. These organisations are working in partnership to drive forward innovation in urban light rail that will transform connectivity in the city.
A hub for innovation
As a pioneering city, innovation in Coventry doesn’t end with the VLR. On the outskirts of the city sits Ansty Park, Coventry’s Technology Park, a global hub of research and development and technological innovation. This amazing campus is home to the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the High Temperature Research Centre, both of which represent major collaboration and investment in manufacturing technology and skills. The launch of Ansty Park elevated Coventry onto the global stage when it comes to innovation, increasing its investment potential and attracting a skilled workforce to this incredible city.
If your business is looking for new premises in Coventry, find out more about Friars House here.