£3.75m tech hub welcomes its first occupant

A digital retail marketing agency has become the first occupant of a new building in Hull’s growing tech quarter.

Summit Media is now operating from offices in the second phase of the pioneering Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub in Hull’s Fruit Market creative community.

The £3.75m building has been developed by regeneration specialist Wykeland Group and is the latest major investment at Wykeland’s @TheDock tech campus.

It builds on the success of the neighbouring original C4DI building which opened in 2015 and has been the key factor in the growth of Hull’s tech sector.

Around 200 start-up and scale-up tech firms are based in the first 23,000 sq ft C4DI building or closely linked to it, as well as hundreds of digital freelancers.

The second C4DI building offers the newest Grade A offices in Hull and will generate around 250 further highly-skilled tech jobs, with Summit kick-starting the new employment.

Established more than 20 years ago, Summit works with major clients including clothing and homewares company Joules, multinational retailer Ann Summers, mobile network provider Three, online marketplace OnBuy and jewellers H Samuel and Ernest Jones, among many others.

Summit uses performance-driven digital marketing techniques to enable clients to grow their customer base and increase revenues and profits from online sales.

Previously based in Willerby, west of Hull, Summit reviewed its office needs when the pandemic led to a prolonged period of home working. The company’s management team felt they needed a new home in the centre of Hull within the city’s tech quarter.

Summit’s 60-strong workforce now occupies more than 3,000 sq ft on the first floor of the new 20,000 sq ft three-storey C4DI building.

The business also has a small team based in Soho in London’s West End, sharing offices with Summit’s parent company TCC Global, a worldwide retail marketing company.

Summit Media managing director Martin, Corcoran, said: “As one of the biggest agencies in the North and the largest in the Hull and Humber region, we wanted to locate ourselves in the best possible position to continue to deliver success for our retail customers and maintain our significant client growth in marketing services.

“This is the natural place for us to be within Hull’s growing tech quarter.

“Relocating into Hull gives us further opportunities to build on our fantastic relationship with the University of Hull, as we recruit lots of graduates, it moves us closer to where many of our staff live and it makes us even more attractive as an employer.”

Emma Barton, senior brand content manager at the firm, said: “The return to the office has been much anticipated and it’s so exciting to be back in a creative space with our ‘Summiteers’ where we can continue to build on our changemaker culture.

“The Fruit Market is also a fantastic place for our team to be based, with so many opportunities for team members to enjoy their breaks and to socialise after work.”

Wykeland asset manager, John Gouldthorp, added: “Summit Media is a perfect fit for C4DI as an innovative local digital business at the forefront of its sector and an excellent first occupier for the next phase of this thriving tech community.

“As staff return to the office after the pandemic, employers are recognising that the quality of the working environment and facilities in and around workplaces are more important than ever to the retention and recruitment of talent.”

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