The EpiCentre in Haverhill, that is celebrating its third anniversary this month, has become firmly established as a key flexible business hub for the region where thirty companies employing 140 people are now in occupation.
Not only does it provide office and lab space, on flexible terms without tying in companies on long-term leases, but its business support team provides great business support and advice with key handy introductions. Other facilities like the coworking desks and meeting rooms are open to all business and individuals in the area, not just occupiers
And, as if that wasn’t enough, it provides front of house reception services and a popular café on site.
The EpiCentre opened in the Autumn of 2020 when the nation, and indeed the globe, was in the grip of the pandemic but despite the challenges it attracted occupiers from day one, some of whom have been there ever since.
Centre Manager Andrew Bell, say: “The loyalty shown by the occupiers proves that the service, flexible space formula, and business support is very appealing to companies. Some startups have grown and moved on to larger facilities, others will continue to expand in the centre, but all take advantage of the attractive facilities on offer.”
Folgate Insurance Company, uses the EpiCentre as its UK business development hub offering its insurance through brokers throughout the country. Employing four members of staff out of its second-floor offices, Paul Craig, head of the business development team, says: “The EpiCentre provides excellent value for money as a brand new building. If we were in Cambridge we would be paying a big premium for a facility like this. We like the big airy office suites and the fact that there is excellent internet connectivity which is a fundamental part of running our business.”
While for Keyla de Magalhaes, who runs her Audiology Expert clinic, from The EpiCentre, the major plus is the availability of parking and the reception facilities, that the patients visiting her regard as a big thumbs up. “Before I worked out of opticians shops in busy high streets, where it would be hard to park and it might involve steps up or staircases that could be a negative for some of our patients. Here at The EpiCentre, we have the reception facilities welcoming patients with pleasant waiting areas and a cup of coffee if they wish and with lifts to each floor there is no drawback for patients who might have mobility issues,” she adds.
A significant part of The EpiCentre is given over to laboratory space for the life sciences and biotech industries. A major beneficiary of this space is CodiKoat, that came to the centre almost on the day it opened to develop its anti-viral coating product.
Matin Mohseni, of CodiKoat, says: “The EpiCentre has been very instrumental to our growth in the sense of providing us with the facility we needed to prove our technology in the real world. There were two of us to start with in Nov 2020 with one lab bench now we have 23 colleagues and have expanded into most of the lab spaces in the centre.
“The staff and management at The EpiCentre have been super-helpful with us and tried to accommodate the needs we had. The centre’s Innovation Director provided us with vital business support. As a startup we had to focus not just on what was going on in the lab but on how to grow the business as a whole and in that respect we have had a great deal of help from The EpiCentre.
“We are not very far away from Cambridge but there is a different eco-system in the building with other companies of the same age as us creating a good collaborative environment. We have had a good many interactions on a daily basis with other startups, getting to know where they are in the growth cycle, what they have done to facilitate that growth and making introductions for each other. The EpiCentre’s Innovation Director helped us with the company vision, helping us go-to market for our products.
“We are super glad that The EpiCentre has experienced the same type of growth as we have as a company being around the same age, and hope our collaboration will carry on for years to come.”
