TechHub looks to get corporates on board

TECHHUB, the new space for Manchester technology start-ups, is in talks with corporate partners to support the venture.

Based at Carver’s Warehouse, Piccadilly Basin, it will launch next month as a franchise of the original London TechHub.

The London site has big name backers – Google, Financial Times publisher Pearson and BlueVia, a platform for developers owned by Telefonica.

Manchester directors Ben Hookway, below right, and Martin Bryant, below left, would not say who they were talking to but revealed the targets are tech brands, large corporates and “local heroes”.

They said such tie-ups were not just financial but would help bridge the gap between small start-ups and large corporate markets.

Mr Hookway told TheBusinessDesk.com: “How does a three-person tech start-up engage with a large corporate? It can be a big gap to bridge. The corporate sponsorship angle is as much about access and start-ups understanding the market.”

He added: “Large corporates can play a really big role in helping start-ups understand the market in which they’re selling.”

There are two types of membership for TechHub, a hot desking deal for £350, plus VAT, and a ‘resident’ pass which costs £225, plus VAT, per desk. Both give access to the other TechHubs in London and Riga, as well as events. There will be around 50 desk spaces and room for a further 30 hot deskers.

Mr Hookway said: “I’m a great believer that it’s great that each city in the UK can have its own identity in terms of culture and speciality but to grow big technology communities in the UK you have to be a bit more linked up.

“London’s two hours away on the train, it’s not Mars. But Manchester, we felt, lacked a point of focus for technology companies. You can get off the train and there’s one focal point three minutes walk from the station. If you want to know anything – if you’re a start-up, or investor, there’s one point of focus.”

He added: “It’s not just a question of desk space but being able to land in London and have a place you can go to sit down, network and be introduced. It also give you access to events where investors come in.”

Mr Hookway has a background of launching and selling tech start-ups and spent much of the 1990s in Silicon Valley. After returning to the UK he led the Runcorn-based mobile phone user interface Next Device which was backed by Enterprise Ventures and sold to Altrincham-based Mentor Graphics in 2006. Since 2009 he has been involved in the Sheffield-based online video business Vidiactive and also works with Lancaster security software firm Isis Forensics.

Martin Bryant is managing editor of technology news website The Next Web which has around five million monthly visits. There are two other directors, Doug Ward, Shaun Gibson, who are behind Tech Britain, a project that is seeking to map and connect the country’s tech businesses.