Edinburgh digital age workspace expands

October 2, 2013 12:19 pm

NEXUS Creative Space was launched in 2012 to create a hub for creative and technology industries. Edinburgh has been provided with numerous business centres for years but has been lacking in the informal working atmosphere that the current Y-generation favour.

Angus Forsyth, founder of Nexus Creative Space, said:- “The culture of Edinburgh business centres hasn’t really moved on in 20 years, and aside from advances in technology, we haven’t seen any visible change in the standard of accommodation here since London & Carlton opened at 1 St Colme Street in 1991. Whilst these corporate centres have their place, young entrepreneurs, freelancers and small business owners are now demanding a less corporate atmosphere without compromising on quality, style, location or technology. On a small, boutique scale, we set out to do what the likes of WeWork have built so successfully in the US. It’s about creating space which inspires creativity and where physical social networking is encouraged.”

Nexus opened its first building in August 2012 in Young Street, a small cobbled street adjacent to Charlotte Square. By the end of 2012 the building was at full capacity and it became clear that the local creative community was asking for a more stylish alternative to the big name business centre brands. By summer 2013, work had started on transforming an adjacent building at Young Street to increase the capacity of the business. November 2013 will see the completion of a major restoration of a long-empty office building and the addition of new creative spaces for Edinburgh’s creative minds.

Angus Forsyth continued: “Within these historic buildings we have created digital age workspace. We understand the different ways in which our residents work and how they use their work space, and we do our best to meet their needs. We try to achieve a balance between creating space that is lively, artistic, colourful yet highly professional. It’s not just about the space, it’s also about being able to use all of the facilities including the generous coffee lounges, the kitchens with full catering facilities, the showers and changing rooms and the conference and audio visual facilities.”

Transparency is crucial to businesses at the early stage of their evolution. Nexus houses a good number of new businesses, acting as an incubator for a number of start-ups to allow them to grow without the burden of long term commitment to property overheads. They have developed a straightforward style licence agreement with no small print and no nasty surprises – the resident chooses how long they wish to sign for and how much notice they wish to give in order to up-size, down-size or move on. The all-inclusive licence fees have no hidden costs or extras, which makes forecasting easy.

This has proved to be an attractive proposition to a variety of Nexus’s residents including film makers, digital marketing companies, search engine optimisation, communication and PR, web design, analytics, data, IT software, graphic design, publishers and illustrators.

Angus adds: “There’s something very satisfying in watching a new business grow under your roof. Three of our early residents have since outgrown their original offices and one resident in particular has up-sized from a single desk last summer to 12 desks today. In each case we have been able to accommodate our residents’ expansion within our buildings.”

Reservations for the new space coming on line in November are now being taken, and plans are progressing for new centres in London and Glasgow in 2014.