Venaspace - Every space you need in one location the heart of Exeter

This week, the rules have changed once again and lockdown easing means that we are now allowed to: meet indoors, eat indoors and more importantly hug each other!

The change in attitude since the start of lockdown has been an interesting one to see unfold. At first, there was the novelty of working from home, it was different to think that: we could sit in our pyjamas, work from the bed or dinner table and people really got behind it. Zoom became a huge part of everyone’s lives in an effort to maintain social contact.

However, as lockdown carried on for a few months, then a year, then over a year, frustrations rose. People wanted to have that human interaction. The work from home buzz faded and now people are excited that they are allowed to meet people and go to work again.

One of the big decisions facing businesses and employees is what their new work environment will look like. Work from home still has an appeal, however so does working in an office environment.

One company that has a solution is Venaspace. They offer fully serviced offices as well as co-working spaces.

The story of how they started is an interesting one. The company started out as Venator Capital Ltd a specialist headhunting agency based in Bournemouth. The company began 14 years ago and as they quickly grew, they found they needed more space, so looked for offices that served their requirements. An issue that cropped up quite often was that landlords wanted long term commitments from them and as a growing company they were unwilling to commit to an office for 3-10 years when potentially they would outgrow that space.

Unable to find something to suit their needs, the company looked into buying a commercial space and were lucky to find a large building that would suit their needs. Whilst not yet the perfect environment, they invested in its development to make it into the unique and comfortable working area they wanted. To their surprise, once the building was complete and the other offices were ready; other businesses flocked to them and they quickly filled all available space.

The success of the building meant they kept running out of space for their own business and thus bought the building next door. The demand for serviced offices was and still is incredibly high. The company own 5 properties in Bournemouth, all with a 100% occupancy rate.

An aspect that stands out with Venaspace is the fact they own all their properties. The advantage of this is it allows them and their clients to really tailor the space. A good example of this is the company Shake-Away. Shake-Away was founded in Bournemouth and have been a client of Vensapace for 8/9 years now. In the Bournemouth office, they not only host their headquarters but also their development kitchen. Another client is looking at two adjacent offices and redesigning it to knock down the wall between them which will open up the space to create a better working environment for their team. 

Owning their properties gives them ultimate control.

This was important for the company as coming from a recruitment background, they had high standards. The environment had to be correct so the team felt comfortable, happy and productive.

When they took on a new project 3 years ago - The Mount in Exeter, this was critical in terms of its design and ambience. This is truly apparent when during lockdown they diversified their model slightly to create a co-working space in their Exeter building.

The purpose of this was to create smaller offices as this was something they felt was missing from their portfolio. They called the co-working space The Rabbit Hole, a whimsical naming based on Alice in Wonderland. The feel of this area has been designed with this book in mind and although it’s set in the basement, the ambience is not what you would expect from a basement office. To give you some idea, it has a booth surrounded by green foliage and hidden amongst the leaves are little speakers that play subtle birdsong in the background. Pleasant yet not intrusive, not something you’d expect from your everyday office!

The idea is that you are more likely to be creative and productive in this setting than one more sterile and functional. It’s an environment that you can go to work and focus, but also a setting where you can get some downtime or have an informal work conversation, away from the more formal, intimidating boardroom set up.

The Rabbit Hole has 3 small offices ideal for teams of 2-3 people to use as a co-working space. The size makes it a great opportunity for start-ups or small businesses. It’s also a great space for a company that is looking for a work environment where they can have discussions of a more sensitive nature a place that is private and secure for confidential discussions.

The beauty of these offices is that whilst it gives you your own private space to work from, it is still part of an integrated area that allows you to mingle with others.

On one floor BBX and 2 other clients have moved in already. They still have 7 offices to fill, however, they are in talks with a company looking to make a decision on 5 of them. The expectation is high that the offices will go very quickly.

Unlike other serviced office providers such as Regus, they price their offices individually based on a fair market rate across their portfolio of offices. This means they can provide a really competitive cost for a serviced all-inclusive office. It’s a real plug and play solution where everything is taken care of and is a great solution for businesses coming out of the pandemic and looking to get back into the office environment.

In terms of whom this product and service appeals to, there are a lot of businesses that this works for. Bournemouth has a university that is strong in the digital marketing arena, which has meant that a lot of their clients are from this field. Exeter has more of a focus on science and technology, thus a lot of offices taken are by businesses in or relating to these sectors.

That’s not to say that the more traditional businesses don’t use this model. One client in Exeter is Browne Jacobsen LLP, a solicitors firm based in Nottingham. The firm has several branches throughout the country and has taken an entire floor at The Mount for their regional team.

Whilst other office providers focus on co-working as a business model, for Venaspace, it will never be an independent model. The aim of the co-working space is to encourage businesses to collaborate. One way that helps facilitate this is the members' area they have created. The members' areas are spaces made for their clients where they can relax and unwind. They have a pool table, beer taps and “Free Beer Friday” at The Mount.

They are there for all members to make use of to foster networking and communication. For example, there could be a graphic designer working in the co-working space and whilst in the members' area, a conversation sparks up between a firm in one of the offices.

At a very reasonable ￡12 a day, the value received in terms of delightful working space, relaxation area and opportunity to network is definitely worth it.

The ethos of networking and collaboration is a priority for Venaspace. It’s one of the reasons they love being part of the BBX community. BBX clients seem to be really encouraged to work together and collaborate which synergises well with Venaspace. Aside from the ethos, BBX has been a really useful platform to obtain much-needed services. One of these being a total overhaul and revamp of their website. It was long needed and they took the opportunity to have someone redesign it during the lockdown on BBX. To support some of their marketing, they’ve also used BBX to pay for graphic designers on an ad-hoc basis as well as pay for shows such as the South West Business expo.

Looking at where they are at this point in time, the company is way ahead of where they thought it would be. The last 18 months have been spent transforming their buildings and creating spaces that they are really proud of.

However as with any good company, having consolidated their current portfolio, they are already working on a new project. Back in January, they bought an old Freemasons lodge in Bournemouth. The architecture in the building is stunning and incredibly ornate. However, the building having been left untended for so long was in a state of real disrepair. Being a listed building means that there are some real challenges ahead. The aim is to maintain the original architecture or restore it where they can, however also modernise it and turn it into a new Business Centre for Bournemouth.

All in all, it’s an exciting time for the company, with the existing portfolios performing well, the restoration project underway and potentially looking at adding new locations to their portfolio, this company is not standing still. Adapt and thrive seems to be a motto that suits them well and it is exciting to see what they will be doing next.

Written by Marie Serrano

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