Southampton City Council is ‘Future Ready’ according to the Federation of Small Businesses
Southampton City Council has been recognised by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) with the 2022 ‘Future Ready’ South Central Local Government award for its unique partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs to form the Network Eagle Lab
Opening in 2019 and located in a repurposed retail storage space, the Lab offers an excellent modern coworking environment to support start-ups and entrepreneurs within the city and across the city region.
Nicky Lidunne, FSB Development Manager for Hampshire, Dorset, and Isle of Wight, said:
“I’m delighted to see Southampton City Council recognised as the South-Central area’s most ‘Future Ready’ council.
“The partnership between Southampton City Council and Barclays is the first of its kind in the UK with a strong focus on collaboration and sustainability. The Lab is not just about providing a coworking space but is also underpinned with additional support which includes access to growth programmes, investors, events/workshops, and business mentors to support learning, upskilling, and networking and now, plans are underway to work closely with local universities to support student start-ups and entrepreneurs.
“It’s great to see Southampton City Council pushing forward, and I hope they will enter with their fantastic new partnership with the British Library, the Business and IP Centre (BIPC), next year.”
Mark Rands, Ecosystem Manager at the Network Eagle Lab, said:
“The Network Eagle Lab is a great example of how the public and private sector can come together to support the growth of local business networks and drive growth in local economies.
“Eagle Labs has a mission to inspire, educate and support ambitious founders and start-ups across the UK to help them succeed and grow. We’re delighted that with our fantastic partners at Southampton City Council, we can help achieve this for businesses in the Southampton area.”
Councillor Satvir Kaur, Leader of Southampton City Council, said:
“We are proud of our partnership with Barclays to help deliver Southampton’s Network Eagle Lab, which supports new businesses and budding entrepreneurs within our city. Its great for this project to receive national recognition from the Federation of Small Businesses; it is an accolade of the hard work, commitment, and ambition of Network Eagle Lab, which has gone from strength to strength.
“As we find ourselves in a national recession, this alongside other initiatives such as our new Business Hub within central library, show how we will continue to do what we can with partners to ensure there is accessible support for local businesses, opportunities to retain local talent and develop skills, so we can remain ambitious, innovative and open for business as a city.”
Both the council and the FSB offer support and advice for businesses struggling with the cost of doing business in these exceptional times. The council’s GROW Business platform highlights available support for businesses, from support about increasing energy bills to information about skills and apprenticeships and advice on funding and the FSB offers advice and support tailored for small businesses in dealing with the cost of living crisis.
