The team travelled to Exeter for the awards night
As Future Space gears up for growth we were excited to be awarded a top regional tech award for Supporting the Sector.
The Tech South West Awards 2023 were held in Exeter on 9 November and our team attended alongside Jenny Bailey, Founder of Ferryx, who was Highly Commended for the health tech award.
The award came at an exciting time as Future Space has welcomed a host of new innovators and entrepreneurs through our doors this year and we’re gearing up to expand by 10,000 square feet of lab and workshop space in 2024.
A big welcome to Celestial Labs, Impulsonics, Reach Industries, Phoenix NC, SAH Diagnostics, Nusku, NPK Recovery (a VDBUK company), and Silent Sensors who are just a few of the innovative businesses that have decided to make Future Space their home in recent months, with some moving across the country to locate here.
Future Space team at Tech South West Awards
Leaders in tech have told us they are attracted to Future Space due to our all-round innovative offer, including on-site support from the University of the West of England, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Launch Space Incubator, the Health Tech Hub and the Centre for Print Research – all in one space.
Our growth has in part been ignited by the departure of one of our biggest success stories, Exmoor Pharma, who grew from a team of seven to more than 80 while located here. Their departure into their own new office has paved the way for fresh talent to access our award-winning facilities.
Meanwhile businesses such as Albotherm and Eclateral have expanded by taking over more lab space, and FluoretiQ Limited have moved to Future Space from their previous home at Science Creates.
The awards were attended by more than 400 leaders in tech from across the South West
Lucy Bell-Reeves, Project Manager for NPK Recovery (a VDBUK company), says:
“Future Space is a genuinely unique workspace in terms of the different elements it offers. Not only does it have lab space, office space, and space to hold events – there is also a large outdoor space to house our shipping container, which we’ve recently moved here to develop our natural, urine based fertiliser. This type of space for innovation is just not possible in the city centre.
“It suits our culture too, we all have responsibilities outside the business so we don’t necessarily work the usual 9-5, and Future Space offers us the flexibility to really embrace hybrid working”.
Russell Murchie, Founder and CTO at Nusku, says:
“I left my previous job on Friday, started at Future Space on Monday, and had joined the Launch Space incubator by Tuesday! That’s how fast things move here, which is what you need when you’re developing a new product – in our case we’re revolutionising how we heat our homes.
“That was a year ago and since then we’ve accessed free support from the innovation team and their advisory network, worked with interns from UWE Bristol and received technical advice from university staff, as well as launching our pre-seed funding round with interest from investors and angel networks.
“We’re building an outdoor product, so we need outdoor test space – Future Space has enough areas for us to do this. It has been the perfect place for us to create Nusku.”
Matt Freeman, Future Space’s new Centre Director, says:
“It’s an honour to have joined Future Space just as the brilliant team here have been recognised for their role in nurturing the tech innovators of tomorrow.
As we look to the future and chart Future Space’s next phase of growth, we must remember that what makes us unique is where we are: located in the heart of the University of the West of England’s Enterprise Zone, surrounded by cutting-edge Research Centres, high-end facilities and rich collaboration opportunities with leading academics and the brightest students.
Future Space has the power to be the innovation centre of choice for all high-tech businesses inspired to work at the cutting-edge of their industry, be it health and life sciences, advanced engineering, digital technology, green tech or beyond.”
Thanh Quan-Nicholls, Innovation Manager at Future Space, says:
“We’re delighted to welcome exciting new companies to Future Space and I’m looking forward to helping them grow. Our supportive ecosystem is key to providing the right environment for success.
“We have a wonderful collaborative community which helps to nurture innovation and support our founders who are focussed on creating positive step-change in technology, health care and sustainability challenges.”
