Premises upgrade for growing web agency with move to North East BIC

A web development agency specialising in supporting SMEs has relocated to a new base as part of its ongoing growth.

Blueocto Ltd has moved to its new home at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) in Sunderland.

Relaunched in 2019 by web developers Caroline Hagan and Matthew Bryson, Blueocto specialises in designing and creating websites powered by Wordpress and Shopify, in order to meet a growing demand for e-commerce services among local small businesses.

Co-founder Caroline explained: “We knew from our experience working in the industry that many of the small businesses we’d met felt that the majority of larger agencies were either too expensive or just didn’t give them the level of service they required.

“We decided to build Blueocto Ltd on a foundation of being an agency which specialised in supporting those small businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy.”

The firm has gone on to work with over 25 businesses, and has plans to expand its team following the move.

Caroline added: “We looked at a few business centres but once we visited the BIC we knew we’d found the perfect spot. We’ve spoken about the idea of potentially taking on an apprentice or graduate, to help them get their start in the industry, and this would give us the opportunity to do that should the opportunity arise.

“It’s also very cost-effective and has superfast broadband, which for a small tech company like us, was a key motivator in our decision.

“The staff have been great too, Louise [Hardy] and Caitlin [Hind] have pointed us in the direction of various business support programmes and have really helped us settle – we can’t thank them enough.”

Louise Hardy, business development manager at the BIC, commented: “It’s been a pleasure working with Caroline and Matthew and we’re delighted that they chose the BIC to house their business.

“The BIC has supported thousands of businesses since it opened its doors 25 years ago and Blueocto Ltd, as a company which itself takes pride in supporting the region’s small businesses, will certainly add to the incubator-style environment we’ve helped establish over the past two decades.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →