Redefining Workspace - Northern Business Showcase Week 11

Hi All,

Happy Friday,

That means another addition of the Northern Business Showcase.

Last week we hit a record of the most viewed thus far - which is always encouraging.

The feedback I had so far is extremely positive from the founders themselves and also the readers.?

Last week, we profiled coffee chain 92 Degrees, scaling from Liverpool across the north. They also recently announced they have begun to move into network rail, starting with Liverpool Lime Street.?

I wish them all the best and I’m sure we will revisit them at some points.

This week, we are moving into the world of workspace. With?Wizu.

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Showcase Week 11;

Business:?Wizu Workspace

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Founder:?Tom?Almas?&?John Guggenheim?

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Based:?Headquartered in?Leeds?with multiple locations including?Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Harrogate & Bradford.

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Mission:?To provide?space as a service. Uplifting, modern?flexible?workspace paired with unrivalled customer service, to inspire people to go further and do their best work.?

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Story:?Wizu Workspace?was built on the foundations of entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for beautiful workspaces and countless cups of Yorkshire Tea. In 2016, founders?Tom Almas?and?John Guggenheim?discovered that there was a lack of trust between businesses and landlords, coupled with bleak, uninspiring workspace design and endless headaches.

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Enter Wizu! From humble beginnings in Bradford to the present day,?with?11?locations across six vibrant cities (and counting), Wizu has pioneered the concept of modern flexible workspace in the North, helping hundreds of businesses secure their ideal office space on their own terms.

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Wizu’s focus on hospitality, design and ultra-flexible terms has helped them secure a diverse client base from solopreneurs, start-ups and scale up’s to household brand names who enjoy their warm, friendly and buzzing workspaces.?

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Wizu are regularly recognised in the prestigious Flexible Space Association Awards, having recently won the?National?Service Innovation award in 2023, showing their commitment to exceptional customer?experience.

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Somewhat uniquely, Wizu has no bank debt or external investors and has grown solely through investment from its founders, reinvesting its profits and by partnering with landlords. This approach helped them ride the choppy waves of the pandemic when others in their sector faltered and provides a solid base for sustainable growth. ?

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Forecast of 2024 revenue: Currently at 11 locations with big aspirations to grow, Wizu have around 50 team members and on target to cross ￡10m in revenue this year.

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Ask:?If you find yourself looking for workspace for your team, a place to meet or a coworking venue for the day please come and say hello!

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I’m sure a lot of people have now watched the WeWork story. It’s one which has been well covered in the start-up world.

From my perspective, it does the flexible working space a real disservice and seeing a business like Wizu show how the model should work is really inspiring to see.

Over the last few weeks, they’ve been some incredible developments in the northern business world - one I want to talk about is the launch of the NPIF II (northern powerhouse investment fund)?

Praetura Ventures were awarded this in the NW, as well as a few others for regional deployment in Yorkshire and the North East.

This in my opinion will play a role in levelling up, access to capital is going to transform a lot of business. So I’m proud to see this in safe hands.

To read more about it click here: https://www.npif.co.uk/

Wish you all a fantastic weekend,

Thanks?

Dominic McGregor