'Technology hotel' provides five-star hospitality

FAST-growing companies have special requirements. They may not be very big at least, not to start with but they normally need a sound infrastructure, a creative atmosphere, and the presence of high-level technical facilities such as broadband.

Finding all these things under one roof is not usually very easy. However, an innovation centre which has just been established in Renfrewshire provides exactly the right environment for companies which have enormous potential for the future.

The Hillington Park Innovation Centre was opened last year with the specific remit of helping young technology companies from the west of Scotland establish themselves in the Scottish economy.

"It's very much an incubator package, and we offer a full range of support," said Tom Ogilvie, the centre's director. "We provide different types of assistance business planning, advice and help with marketing, for example."

The centre owned by Caledonian Land with support from both the local enterprise company and the entrepreneurial community is home to 35 businesses as well as to Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire's high growth team.

"In a way, it's like a technology hotel. We aim to provide short-term incubation support to young, dynamic companies. It's fully furnished, high-quality accommodation with the added value of business support."

One particularly interesting aspect of the package on offer is that it includes seconded help from professionals working for the accountant Ernst & Young and the legal firm Maclay Murray Spens.

This extends the available support into areas such as business planning and due diligence advice which companies would normally expect to pay professional advisers for.

"In general, we're here as a kind of business advice provider and mentor," added Mr Ogilvie. "The companies can ask us questions and we'll do our best to answer. It can be anything from intellectual property issues through to say, selling into the NHS."

Entry criteria are quite strict: only companies developing new products, processes or knowledge are eligible to take space. "We believe that's important if we are to become a community here. We really want our companies to work together.

"If you're on a science park, then it's nice to have the grouping and the culture, but you often don't know who is next door to you. We're not like that. We want our companies to work together."

Unsurprisingly, the centre has been highly popular it is now fully occupied, and a number of businesses have already moved on to bigger premises.

"One of the advantages we have here is practically unlimited broadband. We have a 2mb feed into the centre, but we have an agreement with NTL and that can be increased at any time should we need more capacity."

One of the companies in the centre is The 20-20 Partnership. It provides business intelligence solutions to assist organisations in building an enterprise-wide reporting structure.

The company was set up by a team of executives who were made redundant from Buchanan International and decided to establish their own business.

"Since we've been here, we've gone from strength to strength, and we now employ six people and have a £250,000 turnover," said Steve McFadden, who is one of the founder directors.

"We looked at a lot of places in Glasgow but eventually decided to come to the innovation centre because it gave us the technical infrastructure and high bandwidth we needed.

"We're a young company and we feel this place has a lot going for it. The location is good, it is easily accessible and the support package is excellent. We've had some good advice from the people who are on secondment they tell you what you should and should not be doing and help with things like reviewing contracts, which is useful."

Mr McFadden described the facility as "brilliant". He added: "It's a good place to work so much so, in fact, that we have just doubled our workspace. I think we will be here for another year before we move on."

All in all, Mr Ogilvie said, the centre provides a good and attractive package. "We expect the young companies to stay for 18 months to two years and then move on. By then, they should have really found their feet and be ready to capture the opportunities facing them."

by Andrew Collier, Businessam