This year the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2016 has announced a new category – the Entrepreneurial Co-working Space of the Year. Designed to recognise the best places for entrepreneurs and start-ups to launch, grow and thrive, the new award has seen six of the South West’s co-working spaces shortlisted in the top 100.
And not only has the South West been recognised as having some of the best co-working spaces in the country, this new award category allows for anyone to vote for their favourite to win!
So, to help you all decide, we’ve summarised the six South West shortlisted below:
Bristol & Bath Science Park
Opened back in 2011, the £300m Bristol & Bath Science Park now supports some of the best South West innovation, including manufacturing, engineering, green-tech, aerospace and more.
See what the Bristol & Bath Science Park is all about in our tech incubator profile.
77 Stokes Croft
77StokesCroft is based in one of the most creative parts of Bristol and boasts affordable rates so as to encourage collaboration and enterprise from all backgrounds.
Check 77StokesCroft out in our piece on the best co-working spaces in Bristol.
DeskLodge
Featuring a full-size TARDIS, an indoor ‘garden’ and a tent to hole up in on a busy day, DeskLodge is one of Bristol’s newest co-working spaces. Now most of the way through an expansion onto a second floor, who knows what’s next in store for this quirky hub.
Read more about DeskLodge in our company profile.
Engine Shed
Based in the heart of Bristol’s Enterprise Zone, the Engine Shed is home to SETsquared – a global no.1 business incubator, the Boxworks shipping container offices (and TechSPARK of course!), supporting some of the world’s leading technology businesses and startups.
It’s even got the go-ahead for further expansion and an Engine Shed 2.
Forward Space
The people behind the rather fun Boxworks co-working shipping container complex next to the Engine Shed in Bristol and The Old Church School co-working space in Frome, Forward Space specialise in creating workhubs for smart-thinking entrepreneurs.
Read about the Boxworks launch.
Spike Island
Based in a former Brooke Bond tea packing factory, Spike Island is an international centre for the development of contemporary art and design, offering vibrant and affordable co-working space, incubation and collaborative opportunities for creative businesses, artists and designers.
Read about Spike Island’s creative community in our workspace profile.
The Guild
The Guild was Bath’s first co-working space aimed specifically at local tech and creative freelancers, entrepreneurs and startups. Three years on, the hub is a thriving place full of ideas and growing businesses.
Find out what the Guild’s members have to say about basing their businesses there.
That’s all folks! With such energised, creative, innovative and inspiring co-working spaces in the South West, deciding who’s the best is going to be tough. However, once you have decided, make sure to vote for who you think should win the Entrepreneurial Co-working Space of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2016!
In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date with the competition by following the Great British Entrepreneur Awards on Twitter: @entrepreneursgb.
