Flexible work spaces are becoming increasingly popular. A combination of uncertainty around the effects of Brexit and a desire for firms to have more control of overheads and to operate in a more agile and lean way in a changing market has seen big increases in the number of offices that are serviced and offer shared spaces.

The trend also reflects an increasingly different way of people working, with less rigid commitment and the increasingly co-operative way in which many SMEs (small and medium enterprises) work.

One Bradford organisation, Hope Park, is at the forefront of this increasingly flexible way of renting physical – and now virtual as well – workspace.

Set up in 2008, Hope Park is a pioneering and visionary project that raises money for a national charity that helps struggling children in the UK.

TLG (transforming lives for good) decided to take on the two-acre development at City Gateway as its flagship headquarters – and the charity’s founder and CEO Tim Morfin came up with an innovative idea to create a business centre, and to make money for the charity at the same time.

Through Yorkshire social enterprise funding, the Hope Park Business Centre was created, and its success saw it quickly double in size to offer workspaces for more than 30 businesses – and at the end of 2017, a second serviced office centre was set up on Rooley Lane.

“The growth of Hope Park Business Centres means that more money is being sown into the charity and in turn is changing lives and helps struggling children across the UK,” said Daniel Bullen, Business Developer at Hope Park.

The business ethos of Hope Park, which operates as a social enterprise, is undoubtedly strongly influenced by its partnership with the charity.

Daniel said: “We understand that your workplace is more than four walls. We’re passionate about creating an environment that not only feels like home but helps your business to achieve more.

“We believe that business is more than just number crunching. It’s about doing something significant, something that matters and something that leaves a mark on the world.

“ALL the profit we make goes back into investing in the futures of struggling children across the UK. We’re not looking to cram our own pockets but sow deep into young lives. By sharing our space, our tenants do too!”

Daniel stresses that they are still very much about helping businesses to succeed in a competitive market

“We are here to set up businesses to win. We work to a standard of excellence and take care of all the services and maintenance that would normally cost your business time, money and resource,” he said.

Companies were increasingly finding it difficult to survive because of variable costs including utilities, internet rental, service charges, maintenance, and call out costs, as well as issues with long term office leases which were unforgiving during lean trading period.

“Our model is to keep it clear and simple. We don’t ask for large deposits or for long term commitments, we offer flexible shorter term (usually 12 month) licences to spare companies of risk,” Daniel said.

“We supply superfast internet (We have just had a 1Gig line installed with failover capabilities too!) shared or dedicated, onsite parking, furniture, all service charges and utility bills, office cleaning, take care of the maintenance and upkeep of the building through our brilliant team who are on site every day, reception service is provided in the price, and mail handling,

“We even include free milk, tea, coffee and sugar! This allows businesses an easy and cost-effective move in with scalability within the centre to grow their businesses.”

Hope Park has also recently branched out into offering virtual offices, which allowed new businesses to set up from home with the benefits of physical address.

“This allows start-ups, sole traders and freelancers who work from home to have a prestigious business address for their company, without the actual cost of an office,” said Daniel.

The popularity and growth of serviced and shared workspaces reflects a change in attitudes around the business world.

“There is a reason why there has been a huge global shift from conventional ways of procuring an office to serviced offices – people don’t just work behind four walls,” Daniel said.

“They want to be in a productive and collaborative atmosphere which we encourage. That’s why you’ll often find our tenants mingling in the shared kitchen spaces, breakout spaces or our onsite independent coffee shop, ‘Sugar Snap Kitchen’ which serves amazing coffee and great food for breakfasts, lunches and meetings! Sugar Snap is also a social enterprise which helps people get into permanent employment.”

Key to that change was the increasing desire for flexibility from modern businesses

“It’s getting more and more difficult to forecast your businesses future, especially in the UK. Scalability is more important now than ever, so the flexibility of a place that scales with the strains and success of your business means that you never have to fear long term looming costs.”

Daniel is very positive about the firm’s location in Bradford, and says it has been a factor in attracting businesses.

“Bradford has always been a fantastic place for business, and recent surveys that have found it to be the best place in the country for start-ups won’t be a surprise to its resident businesses,” he said.

“The combination of excellent motorway links to surrounding cities and its proximity to other key cities in the region has meant that we are finding more and more companies looking for high quality flexible space in our area.

“Our location means you can cast your recruitment net not only in Bradford but to the surrounding cities of Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Halifax, Sheffield and Manchester.”

The growth of the district is something new Managing Director Michelle Johnson is also keen to stress

Michelle has enjoyed a successful career managing a commercial property portfolio spanning all of the UK and Europe. She was born and bred in the area and lives in Oakworth. 

She believes her experience will serve Hope Parks clients whilst leaving a lasting legacy for future generations through the financial return to the TLG charity.

‘I’m very passionate about Bradford, and I’m thrilled to be a part of Bradford’s growth and rejuvenation,” she said.

“Rather than line corporate shareholders pockets, I want to bring my expertise to help attract businesses and grow the economy in the region, whilst helping to change lives through the work I do with Hope Park.”