Starting and Growing your Business
Colchester is a great place to start and grow your business…
Colchester is a great place to start a business. Its proximity to London, easy-in/easy-out arrangements and reasonable costs are finding favour in the market so we have put together a directory of space options in the town centre, at the University and out of town to help you with your decision making.
When companies outgrow their start-up space they need ‘grow-on’ space. More grow-on space is in development and for those more mature companies seeking further growth. Find more useful information on this here.
Town Centre Start-Up Space
Colbea Central Colchester Business Centre
Colbea’s purpose-built Colchester Business Centres provide a truly supportive business incubation environment from two convenient Colchester locations. Starting from just £86pw, Colbea’s inclusive serviced offices include everything from access to Superfast broadband, business support and flexible ‘easy in, easy out’ terms (with just a 30-day notice period), to free parking and a friendly reception team.
SPACE Studios, 37 Queen Street
Opened in 2017, this is a newly refurbished creative workspace facility and cultural venue with views overlooking the Firstsite visual art gallery. This new venue provides artist studios, co-working desk space and networking facilities for the creative and digital industries. With around 12,000 sq. ft. of lettable space complete with 1GB fibre optic broadband connectivity, café facilities and an outdoor courtyard space, SPACE is developing the site as a hub for emerging creative enterprises in Colchester as well as an alternative ecosystem for creative businesses and artists.
University of Essex Start-up and Grow-on Space
Parkside Office Village, Knowledge Gateway
Opened in 2014, Parkside Office Village offers modern office space on the Knowledge Gateway, at the University of Essex. More than 20 SMEs now form a thriving business community and benefit from excellent research links and facilities. Phase II is currently underway which will open in Autumn 2018. This will offer a further 14,000 sq ft (1,300 sq m) of modern, bright office space for small businesses.
The ESRC’s Business and Local Government Data Research Centre is also located at Parkside, as is the Institute for Analytics and Data Science. From Parkside Office Village it’s just a five-minute walk onto central campus where a wide range of facilities is available.
Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway
Next to Parkside Office Village on the Knowledge Gateway a £12m Innovation Centre is under construction, opening in 2019. This will accommodate more than 50 new start-ups. The Knowledge Gateway also offers access to the University’s stunning £21m Essex Business School offering executive education options and MBA courses, and Bonds cafe for an ideal meeting place.
Out of Town near A12 Start-up and Grow-on Space
Colbea North Colchester Business Centre
Colbea’s purpose-built Colchester Business Centres provide a truly supportive business incubation environment from two convenient Colchester locations. Starting from just £86pw, Colbea’s inclusive serviced offices include everything from access to Superfast broadband, business support and flexible ‘easy in, easy out’ terms (with just a 30-day notice period), to free parking and a friendly reception team.
Lodge Park
Set in a unique parkland, Lodge Park offers prestigious offices to small and medium enterprises on an easy in / easy out basis. Fully serviced with gigabit internet connectivity, high quality meeting rooms, catered tea stations and ample parking, Lodge Park is the destination of choice for Colchester’s entrepreneurs.
Pappus House
A new office development providing a dynamic working environment in an excellent location for fledgling to medium sized companies. Pappus House has been designed to give each occupier the freedom of its own space but with a common area to network and socialize, whilst under the umbrella of an all-inclusive space.
Seedbed Centre
Colchester Business and Seedbed Centre is a development of 44 individual commercial units located on the popular Severalls Business Park development directly adjacent to the A12/A120 Interchange providing easy access to the national motorway networks. A mix of offices, studios and industrial units provides comprehensive work space to choose from and also makes this centre an ideal location for a variety of businesses.
Weston Homes Business Centre
The Colchester Centre is a purpose built facility and prides itself in providing modern, state of the art fully serviced offices at remarkably affordable prices. The Colchester Centre benefits from an on-site café, professionally staffed reception and 5 meeting rooms. The Colchester Centre is conveniently situated in the Hythe, Colchester and is easily accessible via train and bus and the Hythe train station with links direct to London. It is also easily accessible to the A12, A14 and A120.
Useful Links for companies seeking further growth
Locations for Growth
Colchester is one of the fastest growing districts in the country…
A Great Place to Live
Find out what makes Colchester an amazing place to live.