One business that has already settled into Department is edtech company Glean, already moving in before the rest of the building was ready ten months ago, with a team of 72 spread across two floors.
“Department’s vision for community really aligned with ours, and it’s been great to be able to host regular learning events and open our doors to The Marketing Meet Up and Power BI networks. The flexible workstations and meeting room space has been a great hub for effective collaborative work, which has helped us dramatically expand our reach in the US over the last 12 months, all from our Leeds office,” said Katherine Threadgold, Head of Brand at Glean.
Department will soon become another home for Exchange, a tech scale-up support programme, that has already been running for three years in Manchester. But why was Leeds the next Northern destination?
“We’ve seen a gap in the market to be able to provide that media, creative, digital, tech space to bring those communities together here, like we’ve done in Manchester” Alice Pickersgill, Exchange’s programme lead, told Prolific North on a tour of the new site.
“With a growing tech industry here, it made sense to bring the Exchange programme over as well,” she explained. “Allied London already operates most of the Leeds Dock area so having these amazing businesses moving into the area, it just makes perfect sense to be part of that along with potential opportunities to collaborate.”
The new Exchange programme at Department, set to launch officially on April 1st in Leeds, is initially looking to support 20 ambitious early-stage digital, tech and creative companies.
“There’s already great stuff going on. The concept of having this space here is to be able to support businesses through their journey and give that support so that they can get to those next stages.”
Similar to how Manchester’s Exchange scheme operates, there are already a number of partners gearing up to help support and “grow the ecosystem”, with Zeal Marketing, Clarion Solicitors, as well as venture partners such as Praetura, DSW Ventures and more on board.
“It will be a similar offering. In time, we want to connect both cohorts up and give the Manchester businesses opportunities to come over here, and Yorkshire businesses opportunities to go there and just be able to link them up.”
Being located so close to the likes of Sky and Channel 4, the Exchange scheme is keen to “co innovate” alongside them.
“Whether that’s initially through the mentor and advisor network to come in and support the members, whether we can look at co innovation, workshops, projects, or if they’ve got a problem that needs solving. We are keen to link in with businesses, similar to Enterprise City now we have larger members like Booking.com moving in.”
Following the news about Tech Nation’s planned closure after the government awarded a vital £12m grant to Barclays tech incubator instead, she reflected on how the growth network helped to support schemes like Exchange.
“It’s so sad about Tech Nation, they’ve been absolutely brilliant knowledge partners for the last three years and they helped us launch the programme,” she explained.
“With the amazing partner network we have built and continue to grow, I’m really confident we can build on the work we have done so far.”
As Allied London is set to transform two more heritage buildings in Manchester to create Campfield Yard, another new tech, media and creative industries hub, it will support the Exchange programme to expand in Manchester and new locations might be on the horizon soon.
“Having Campfield now, we’re looking at what we do there. Who knows in time where we expand to, it’s so exciting to explore a new city,” she added.
