UK: Coworking business TownSq has marked its third anniversary with an acquisition, senior appointments, and a number of multi-million-pound contracts.
The contracts will see TownSq replicating its model of startup and small business support in new office and workspaces across Rhyl, Chester and Devon, a deal the firm says is potentially worth more than £10 million in revenue.
The business is set to continue its rapid growth, with a further five hubs in the pipeline and is expecting to double its headcount across the UK in the next 12 months.
TownSq has also acquired administrative support business, Wize Virtual Admin and a formed a joint venture with Wrexham-based Bank Street Coffee.
The Wize acquisition will become TownSq Admin Support and will allow the business to offer personal and virtual finance and admin services to the members of its spaces across the UK. Meanwhile, the joint venture with Bank Street Coffee will become TownSq Social and will see the team open coffee shops at those same spaces.
Wize founder Cariann Emmanuelli will move into the role of operations director at TownSq, with the responsibility of leading on the financial and operational duties of the business. All of the Wize team will join the TownSq team and continue to service its current and future customers.
TownSq has also made a further senior appointment, with Carl Turner taking the role of senior community manager. Formerly the community manager for the Wrexham Enterprise Hub, Carl will now take a leadership role, initially responsible for overseeing the northern hubs, which currently includes Wrexham, Rhyl and Chester.
Team members Pete Rogers and Lizzie Stone have both also received promotions to take a more active role in the development and expansion of the community in Wrexham.
A campaign by TownSq – Boot the Commute – has found 85 per cent of people want to commit to working closer to home in the future.
Chief operating officer, Mandy Weston said she was proud with how the team has navigated the disruption caused by Covid-19.
She said: “Being a business that primarily offered support through our physical spaces, it’s fair to say we were concerned with how we were going to operate with the uncertainty and restrictions of national and local lockdowns. Thankfully, we moved quickly and put systems in place so that we could continue to support our member business virtually, as well as plan for the future. The operational changes we have made are just a part of the wider blueprint on how TownSq will grow, and these new ventures in TownSq Admin Support and TownSq Social will allow us to support our communities even further.”
“We are also pleased to be officially welcoming the Wize team to TownSq after having already worked together so closely for a number of years. Carl’s appointment as senior community manager is also a milestone for us, as we now need someone to facilitate entire regions for us, as we continue to expand across the country. The future is looking bright for TownSq, and with a number of other projects and partnerships close to completion, we are looking forward to capitalising on the growing demand for flexible working across the UK,” she added.
