FIFTY-seven new jobs have been created at Innovation Factory in Belfast as companies adopt new ways of working to face up to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Springfield Road business centre - owned by Belfast City Council and operated by Oxford Innovation - had an unprecedented 60 per cent increase in enquiries for flexible, hybrid working options as business confidence returns.
Centre director Majella Barkley said: “This surge of interest signals a growing confidence by businesses as they look for new ways to bring their teams together again.
“Companies are looking for flexibility, shorter lease requirements and the ability to scale up or down quickly.”
In the past two months, the centre has seen 11 businesses move in while five existing companies have expanded and scaled up to bigger premises within the building (www.innovationfactoryni.com).
Estate agency McAteer Solutions moved to Innovation Factory as it expands into the Belfast (if already has offices in Dungiven and Toomebridge).
Founder Olga McAteer said: “Our philosophy is to locate away from the high street to offer customers easy, free parking while also challenging the conventional way of selling property.”
For Steve Geary of graphic design agency Forme Studio, the time was right to move out of the home office and into a dedicated work space.
His business is growing and he’s hoping to employ an additional designer and a junior soon.
“I was working from an office in my back garden, but lockdown changed my opinion of working from home. I realised how much I missed seeing other people and getting out to work. I chose Innovation Factory because I loved the space, which is ideal for meetings with clients. There’s such an interesting mix of other businesses with the potential to collaborate on projects,” he said.
