Targets being met by business centre
Harborough Innovation Centre
A BUSINESS centre set up to aid fledgling firms exceeded financial targets in its first year, a performance review has concluded.
The Harborough Innovation Centre made a loss of £118,000 from its opening in July last year to the end of the last financial year in March - £49,000 better than the predicted £167,000 loss.
The report, prepared for Harborough District Council’s executive commitee, says the only target not met by the centre in its first year was the demand its conference facilities, which were under-used.
Built using European Regional Development Fund and the East Midlands Development Agency funding, the flagship £4.2m centre is based at the 20-acre Airfield Business Park on Harborough’s northern outskirts.
It provides 53 individual offices as well as eight studios along with shared facilities such as meeting rooms to help keep start-up businesses’ overheads down.
The report shows there have been a number of comings and goings in the first year, with Ukip MEP Roger Helmer and firms NU Resourcing, Dataworks and Short Term Finance all leaving. But occupancy rates have hit 42 per cent - better than the 37 per cent target.
Oxford Innovation, which runs the centre for Harborough District Council in a partnership which also includes developer William Davis and Prospect Leicestershire, says a turnover of firms is inevitable, given that the centre provides a stepping stone for new businesses.
Mick Judge, centre manager, said three new firms are set to move in this month.
He added: “The letting agreement at Harborough Innovation Centre is designed to be flexible as the aim of the centre is to support early stage businesses and avoid them having to get locked into long term leases.
“It is inevitable that some companies will move out as their circumstances change whilst we will also continue to welcome new occupiers.
“We are delighted to report that there will be a further three companies scheduled to move in to the Innovation Centre over the next month. We will then have 21 companies at the centre and a further ten companies using the virtual office facility.”
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Weather for Market Harborough
Monday 20 May 2013
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