Member Article

Connect Derby provides temporary home for global IT firm Bam Boom Cloud at Friar Gate Studios

Connect Derby, the city’s primary manged workspace provider, has stepped in to provide global IT company Bam Boom Cloud with short term accommodation in its new furnished office space at Friar Gate Studios while its new HQ is being refurbished.

Earlier this year, Bam Boom Cloud, formerly Cooper Parry IT, announced it was relocating from its offices near East Midlands Airport to a 6,500 sq ft, Grade II listed property in The Wardwick area of Derby.

With renovations at its new property still being completed, the company needed to find accommodation quickly. Ann Bhatti, head of Connect Derby, stepped in, offering Bam Boom Cloud five of its newly refurbished, fully furnished offices at Friar Gate Studios on Ford Street.

Ann and her team turned Bam Boom’s tenancy around in one week, enabling the company to move in immediately, with minimal disruption to its operation.

Connect Derby recently announced that Friar Gate Studios was expanding its offering with the launch of nine fully furnished, Covid-secure offices, available to rent for up to six months.

The furnished office accommodation provides flexibility for businesses looking to return to office premises after working from home while they consider their options - or new start-ups looking for a short-term home for their business without the additional costs of furnishing it themselves.

The offices, which range in size from 282 sq. ft to 442 sq. ft, are equipped with desks, chairs, and storage units, phone lines, high-speed broadband, and sundry items, including tea and coffee making facilities and waste bins. Some offices also have their own breakfast bar, sofas, tub chairs, coffee tables, plants, and artwork frames.

Tenants taking furnished offices at Friar Gate Studios can also take advantage of a range of other facilities, including an on-site café, business support and Covid secure meeting rooms. Bam Boom Cloud is a leading supplier of cloud-based technology solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. The firm has operations in the US, Canada, Indian and Ireland and plans further growth in Germany and the UAE.

The company has exciting plans for its new HQ on The Wardwick, including the creation of a staff bar, chill-out zones with a pool table and computer games area. Staff are due to start moving in this summer.

Commenting on helping Bam Boom Cloud, Ann Bhatti, head of Connect Derby, said:

“When we heard that Bam Boom Cloud were in urgent need of short-term office space in the city centre, we pulled out all the stops to turn around their tenancy agreement in less than a week.

“The idea behind launching furnished offices was to support companies like Bam Boom Cloud through transitional phases of their operations post-Covid and provide them with the flexibility to stay for up to six months, with the option to move to a permanent base in one our seven serviced offices if required.

“Our new furnished offices at Friar Gate Studios have already proved a huge success with 67% of the offices occupied in less than a month, encouraging more people back to the city-centre.”

Vicky Critchley, CEO of Bam Boom Cloud, added:

“We’d like to thank Ann and her team for providing us with five furnished offices at such short notice whilst work on our new HQ is being completed.

“The city centre location and facilities at Friar Gate Studios are perfect for our team. There is a great sense of community here, along with excellent Covid safety measures and we’re happy to call Connect Derby our new home for the next few months.”

The arrival of Friar Gate Studios to Derby in 2007 laid the foundations for what has become a hugely successful managed workspace sector in the city. The Studios comprise 41 offices ranging from 275 ft2 to 1190 ft2, meeting and seminar rooms and the popular Bean Caffé.

Friar Gate Studios is one of seven buildings within the diverse Connect Derby portfolio alongside Sadler Bridge Studios, Riverside Chambers Marble Hall, Kings Chambers, Shot Tower and the iHub innovation centre on Infinity Park.

The scheme provides micro businesses, entrepreneurs and SMEs with the high specification working environment, IT infrastructure and business support they need to grow. Tenants enjoy superfast broadband, meeting rooms equipped with AV equipment, and 24/7 access.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sonia Bolla .