Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
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LS1 3HE
New businesses welcomed at Leeds Met as QU2 expands
A hub for young high growth businesses,QU2 offers business support and hosts fully serviced office space which is ideal for start-up companies or for developing an already existing one.
Building on its thriving base in Queens Square in the heart of Leeds, QU2 is now offering additional office accommodation in Macaulay Hall, Churchwood and North Lodge at Leeds Met's Headingley Campus. It has also expanded its city centre base with new offices available in the University's Cloth Hall Court building in Quebec Street.
Merlin Wright Director Kieron Wright, said: "We are based in Churchwood at Leeds Met's stunning Headingley Campus, which is a great location for our business.
"Merlin Wright is one of Europe's leading executive search consultancies operating in the Intellectual Property industry. With fifteen years of experience recruiting patent attorneys throughout Europe, our choice of location is determined more by the services and support available than being close to the clients - all our work is based outside of the UK necessitating frequent travel.
"We have viewed numerous serviced offices but none came close to the friendly support and business network provided by QU2. Also, the positive energy of working on a university campus provides a good foundation on which to grow."
QU2, which has offices available for up to eight people, has offered business centre and business support services for more than 10 years in Queen Square. Leeds Metropolitan University has supported the start-up and growth of more than 600 businesses, creating over 1300 jobs in the region with a collective turnover of more than £42 million.
One of the latest additions to QU2's Queen Square site is Leeds-List.com which was set up as a replacement for the much-loved Leeds Guide magazine after it went into administration last year. Set up by Dan Murray and Erin Cheetham, the website was recently referred to by D&D London as "Leeds's answer to Time Out" and now has a strong readership that topped 100,000 visits in March.
Dan commented: "Moving to QU2 has allowed us to focus on our aggressive growth plans, and since moving we have already seen a significant increase in traffic and editorial quality as we're no longer worrying about scaling the business for further growth."
In addition to QU2 the University offers Business Start-Up which supports students and graduates of Leeds Metropolitan who want to become self-employed or start up in business.
QU2 and Business Start-Up both provide training and advice on the main aspects of starting and growing a small business including: sales, marketing, legal concerns, accountancy and finance, online marketing and human resources. Clients can also access one-to-one advice from in-house business advisors.
The QU2 business acceleration service, which currently supports 150 businesses, also offers virtual office space, consisting of a business address and use of hotdesks and meeting rooms.