New businesses to benefit from partnership between enterprise hub in Leamington, University of Warwick, BT and Warwickshire County Council

Ten new businesses will be the first to benefit from a programme in Leamington that will help them to become part of the UK’s largest creative cluster outside Greater London.
Left to right outside 1 Mill Street are: Clare Green, University of Warwick Toby Flynn, Icycle Rachel Davis, University of Warwick Emilia Moniszko, Blunt & Brave Kirk Hastings, Blunt & Brave Chris Knight, Creative Leamington Martina Bussi, Creative Leamington Shaquira Lue, Open A cappella Community Beth Newell, Common Story Cat Callicott, 1 Mill Street.Left to right outside 1 Mill Street are: Clare Green, University of Warwick Toby Flynn, Icycle Rachel Davis, University of Warwick Emilia Moniszko, Blunt & Brave Kirk Hastings, Blunt & Brave Chris Knight, Creative Leamington Martina Bussi, Creative Leamington Shaquira Lue, Open A cappella Community Beth Newell, Common Story Cat Callicott, 1 Mill Street.
Left to right outside 1 Mill Street are: Clare Green, University of Warwick Toby Flynn, Icycle Rachel Davis, University of Warwick Emilia Moniszko, Blunt & Brave Kirk Hastings, Blunt & Brave Chris Knight, Creative Leamington Martina Bussi, Creative Leamington Shaquira Lue, Open A cappella Community Beth Newell, Common Story Cat Callicott, 1 Mill Street.

The Creative Futures Accelerator Programme, which will also work with 500 innovators, will help business teams develop their entrepreneurial skills, test, launch, and pitch their ideas, and get six months of free space and support to develop their creative enterprises at 1 Mill Street which is based at the junction with Leam Terrace.

The scheme is supported by the University of Warwick, 1 Mill Street , BT and Warwickshire County Council.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They will work together to hone the next generation of regional entrepreneurs and innovators as part of the university's Creative Futures Incubator initiative.

Each start-up will be able to benefit from the transformation of the 12,000 sq ft Victorian building into a modern creative enterprise hub, including flexible offices, dedicated desks and hot-desking, a video and sound studio, The Muse Coffeehouse, meeting areas and an events space.

The businesses in the Creative Futures Incubator will now also have access to the BT Group's 5G network, offering ultra-fast speeds, lower latency and enhanced reliability.

Those moving into the new community hub include brand and digital content agency - Blunt & Brave, content creation company - Common Story, arts and creative production company - Creative Leamington, sustainable eyewear manufacturer - Icycle, and a community-driven a cappella organisation called Open A cappella.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dom Sant and Beth Newell from Common Story said “After decades of working in London for TV production companies, the national lockdown made us re-evaluate how and where we work.

"We saw great opportunity in the creative and screen industries in the Midlands, particularly in Silicon Spa, so decided to establish Common Story as a content creation start-up.

"Before being selected into the Creative Futures Incubator, we were working out of a tiny shed at the bottom of the garden.

"This opportunity has enabled us to be more productive, network and make new connections and potential collaborations with members of the wider Mill Street community, as well as given us space to pitch to major broadcasters and platforms such as Channel 4 and YouTube.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nigel Shanahan, founder of 1 Mill Street, added: “This partnership with the University of Warwick helps to build upon the broad variety of organisations that we have operating out of the complex - not just in terms of their sectors, but also the varying stages of development that they are at.”

“We are creating a hub where organisations can develop by supporting each other - an approach that is needed now more than ever given the wider economic climate.”

“The interest that we have had in 1 Mill Street so far has been phenomenal, and underlines just what an exciting project we are building here for Leamington and the wider region.”