A Midlands science park has officially launched its latest initiative to welcome businesses of all sizes into its innovation community.
The University of Warwick Science Park’s first Ignite Business Lounge – one of a planned series of business lounges – was officially opened at the Venture Centre in Coventry with a ribbon cutting from Cllr Peter Butlin, Deputy Leader of Warwickshire County Council.
The newly created space is designed to encourage collaboration between start-ups, scale-ups, and established businesses with the help of support organisations.
The Business Lounge serves as a hub where businesses that aren’t yet ready to take up residence can still benefit from being part of the Warwick innovation community through membership.
Businesses that work at the Lounge will benefit from flexible contracts, access to the Science Park’s business support teams, and talent from the University of Warwick through schemes such as internship programmes. They will also be able to access support from support agencies carefully curated by Ignite Lead Dirk Schaefer.
He said: “The Ignite Business Lounge is a natural progression of the support activities that led to UWSP being recognised by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading start-up hubs.”
Victoria Lynch, Head of Commercial at University of Warwick Science Park, said: “The Ignite Business Lounges are a key part of our strategy to grow the already vibrant UWSP community to over 400 companies.
“This first lounge builds on the impressive heritage of our already successful Ignite incubation and Business Ready support programmes.
“It marks a natural evolution and expansion of our efforts to support tech start-ups and scaling businesses, by making our community accessible to those who don’t need to be here full-time but still seek the support, talent, and expertise they need to reduce risk and drive innovation and growth.”
The opening comes as the University of Warwick Science Park wrapped up its 40th anniversary celebrations in 2024, while also preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of its successful Minerva Business Angels Network and the 60th anniversary of its owner, the University of Warwick, this year.
Mark Tock, Chief Operations Officer at the University of Warwick Science Park, added: “We hope to open our second Ignite Business Lounge in Warwick soon – we’re confident that a network of business lounges will extend the regional impact of what the Science Park offers.”
Anyone wishing to find out more should contact Dirk Schaefer at the University of Warwick Science Park by emailing ignite@uwsp.co.uk.
