Case Study – Hope Park Business Centres

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When did the business start trading:

2008

Who started Hope Park Business Centres:

Tim Morfin

Tell us what you do and how you do it:

We provide virtual offices/addresses, meeting rooms and fully operational serviced offices for 1 – 20+ people. We have 2 centres, both of them located just off the M606 in Bradford. Being serviced offices, we include parking, furniture, internet, utility bills, maintenance bills, reception, shared kitchen, cleaning etc on a flexible 12-month licence as opposed to the traditional procurement of leasing offices which requires long term commitments as well as the hassle and cost of setting up and managing all the inclusives that I just mentioned.

This helps businesses to spend more time on doing what they do best. When businesses outgrow their space, they can simply move to a larger space within the centre which we have seen happen many times.

Who buys your product / service?

A real mixture because this model fits so many business profiles. From International coprorate branches like Handelsbanken and Morrison Utility Services to small start-ups and sole traders who occupy 1-2-person offices like consultants or graphic designers/web developers. We also host a lot of tech companies and charities. This all makes for a really vibrant atmosphere in the centres. We opened our second centre in December 2017 and for our last remaining offices, we decided to turn them into smaller 1-2 person offices to suit the growing trend of start-ups in the area.

It’s great to see start-ups enjoying sharing the space with many other types of business and to watch them glean tips from each other. It’s also great to see rapport develop between businesses which often leads to friendships, referrals and work.

What makes your business stand out from your competitors:

Hope Park Business Centres operates as a social enterprise in partnership with the national charity TLG Transforming Lives for Good. In other words, ALL of Hope Park’s profit goes directly to TLG. We’re not looking to cram our pockets but sow deep into young lives. Just by sharing our space, our tenants do that too! This drives the team to make sure that tenants are getting a great product as well as great customer service.

What are the main strength/s of your business:

Our customer service is our main strength. We have only been able to achieve this by consistently agreeing on renewed licence agreements with our current tenants. I’m often asked why we don’t just offer 5-year leases to secure business long term? If your offering is good enough then tenants will keep renewing. I hear horror stories of companies signing long-term leases and then being abandoned by the Landlords, by offering 12-month licences we always strive to improve our offering and stay on our toes. Companies also enjoy the flexibility to be able have the option of seeing what other offices we have available at time of renewal.

What are the values that drive your business:

With the motive of supporting TLG aside, we have 5 values for our Centres which are to be Uplifting, Approachable, Transparent, responsive and Enjoyable.

What’s your favourite business book and why:

Not always categorised as a business book but ‘how to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie has to be my favourite. It has helped me both in business and personal life. Business will always be about how you treat people and carry your relationships which the book emphasises. Particularly good if you’re in sales.

What is the most useful lesson you’ve learned through experience:

Concentrate on what you do best. Speaking with so many businesses here at Hope Park, I see both success and struggle. I’ve notice that the growing companies are focusing on their product, service and whatever is bringing them income whilst struggling companies focus on areas that may be necessary to look at but don’t really aid growth if too much time is spent on it. For example, spending too much time on Branding. Very important of course but there is a service or product to tend to.

What is the main mistake to avoid in future:

Don’t always go for the volume sale. It can be very tempting when an enquiry for a 40+ office to give them the rest of the space and occupy a large percentage of the Business Centre. This can have an effect on the atmosphere of the centre as they become quite a dominant force. Keeping a healthy balance of businesses means everyone feels equally important and welcome.

Which business success are you most proud of:

Achieving consistently 100% occupancy in our first Centre and making the leap to open a second Centre in Dec 2017 which is now 85% occupied. These are significant successes but the real success is when you hear statistics from TLG whom we give all our profit to that 20,035 meals were service at TLG Make lunch clubs around the UK during the school holidays for children and families who may otherwise go without or through TLG’s early intervention programme that 92% of children reported feeling more confident in themselves. These are the real successes to Hope Park Business Centres

What are your future ambitions:

To continue to expand and replicate the quality of business centres around the UK and further support the work of TLG Transforming lives for good.

 Hope Park Business Centres
Meeting room space

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