Bayspace joins Barclays Eagle Labs with the launch of Bayspace Platform

Apr 23, 2024

Bayspace St Ives and St Ives Workstation CIC are celebrating their exciting new partnership as part of Barclays Eagle Labs through the Ecosystem Partnership Programme, which has been awarded recently to help promote accelerated learning, inclusivity, investment and opportunity for Cornish communities and founders.

Bayspace St Ives is an enabled co-workspace and enterprise hub, based in a listed heritage building in the heart of St Ives, which serves the communities of St Ives and wider Cornwall. The umbrella-CIC manages facilities and development projects in order to support prosperity and help communities to meet multiple challenges and opportunities. In particular, Bayspace supports co-working, memberships, meetings, networking, permanent office space, support services, skills, training and events.

Through the new partnership, the CIC is proud to be able to launch Bayspace Platform, a year-round programme of in-house support for founders, alongside training & skills workshops, events, presentations, activities and master classes for entrepreneurs, members, workspace users and all sections of the community, which will run at Bayspace. The Platform will also support incubation, inspiration and showcasing for start-ups and scale-ups, with the aim of helping them to succeed and scale.

CIC Chairman, Larry Magor said: “We’re thrilled to learn that Bayspace will be part of the wider Barclays Eagle Labs, and highly delighted that as the smallest new partner in the country’s network, we have an exciting opportunity to shine a light in helping to support emerging Cornish companies, ideas and talents – this is certainly a testament to the ingenuity, creativity, inspiration and entrepreneurial flair all around us in the deep South-West!”

Barclays Eagle Labs was established to help connect the UK’s entrepreneurial community and has a strong track record of working with partners to drive economic growth by supporting local tech ecosystems. Barclays Eagle Labs in the UK showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments, and in St Ives the programme will be ‘industry–agnostic’ in recognition of the depth of influence and potential from crea-tech and marine-tech for example, to climate, energy, space or agri-tech, all of them highlighting the positive, year-round, qualitative impacts of entrepreneurs in local communities.

“Bayspace Platform aims to help promote dynamic stewardship of local talents – involving local businesses and communities, the natural and built environments, national institutions and local leaders – showing that collective action can inspire great results. That is first and foremost why we’re so pleased to become a partner of Barclays Eagle Labs!” Larry added.

Fellow director Rowena Swallow also looks forward to what the ecosystem will offer: “Becoming part of Eagle Labs in the far south-west will enable us to promote shared values, long-term thinking, cross-sector collaboration, meaningful discourse, connected interests, learning and leadership, with which to accelerate and amplify action – it will be exciting to learn from fellow Barclays Eagle Labs, delivery partners and founders, and is a game-changing opportunity for Cornwall”.

Bayspace Platform will launch by offering ten fully subsidised places to founders for a year initially. Founders will have all member benefits in terms of services and facilities during the period, and an option to remain thereafter – they will be chosen through liaison with University and other partners – some core activities will be for founders only, others for a wider audience alongside, and both specialist and open sessions will also be available, which will be open to all in the community. Apply for the Bayspace Platform Programme now.

Amanda Allan, Director of Barclays Eagle Labs, said: “We are excited to support Bayspace in the launch of the new platform, and in its ambition to support tech businesses in Cornwall. Using our Ecosystem Partnership Programme, we are allocating funding to organisations like Bayspace that are already plugged into their national and regional ecosystems. Our support for Bayspace highlights our ongoing commitment to support the continued growth of the tech sector across the whole of the UK.”

Barclays Contact: Jared Lawthom, PR Manager – jared.lawthom@barclays.com

Bayspace contact: Rowena Swallow – 07708559531 – cpdelivery@hotmail.co.uk

About Bayspace

www.bayspace-stives.com

About Barclays

Our vision is to be the UK-centred leader in global finance.  We are a diversified bank with comprehensive UK consumer, corporate and wealth and private banking franchises, a leading investment bank and a strong, specialist US consumer bank.  Through these five divisions, we are working together for a better financial future for our customers, clients and communities.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website home.barclays

About Barclays Eagle Labs

Eagle labs are one of the UKs largest entrepreneurial networks, providing a wealth of support to startup and scaleup businesses, particularly those that are focused on technology and innovation. Businesses can be connected to mentors, specialists and a collaborative community designed to help them on their growth journey. Eagle Labs provide these services through physical spaces across the UK, virtual support and an online network. Since launching in 2015, Eagle Labs has supported over 13,000 businesses.

For more information about Barclays Eagle Labs please visit: https://labs.uk.barclays/about