Our centres are Covid-safe – we’re here when you’re ready to move forward

Recovery. A word we’re hearing a lot right now, as we start to emerge tentatively from the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. For some, the recovery will be a physical one, to gradually get well again after falling ill with the virus that has affected millions of people the world over. Yet everyone needs to readjust and adapt to move forward in some way, as the impact has been far reaching.

Businesses need to find their feet and recover too, to get their teams back together, to get their order books busy again and feel confident that they can thrive and grow. Small businesses have been hit hard by the sudden lack of trade or through having to lay off staff, and sole traders have had to juggle work-life balance like never before.

At our Future Business Centres, in Cambridge, Peterborough and London, we’ve stayed open throughout the crisis, as we understand that not everyone can work from home – whether it’s due to practical reasons because of specific equipment in your workshop or simply because your home isn’t set up for remote working. But as the lockdown eases, and more people are considering a return to their workplace, we’ve implemented measures that should reassure visitors and tenants alike, that our centres are Covid-secure and safe.

In addition to safety procedures, such as spaced seating in shared areas, and notices advising of capacity in rooms and direction of travel in corridors, with plenty of handwash and sanitiser around, we’ve also adapted our policies to allow even more flexible working. We understand that the teams looking for office space now may be smaller than before or alternately may need more space to allow for social distancing. Whether its an existing tenant company who needs to adjust their seating capacity, or a team looking for a new office to call home that gives them more flexibility – we’re here to help.

One such company, who moved into our Peterborough centre during lockdown, is Catapult Media – whose new business magazine Peterborough Hub launched this year, just months before the crisis started to make headlines.
“Deciding to set up a new office during lockdown was a difficult decision but the team at Allia Future Business Centre Peterborough have been there for us every step of the way,” explains Sarah Crown, Partner and Sales Director at Catapult.

“As a new business setting up premises for the first time, we really couldn’t have asked for more. A lot of thought and effort has been put into implementing Covid-19 measures to ensure we all stay safe, which goes a long way to putting minds at rest during these unsettling times.”

Long term tenant at our Cambridge centre, Ben Lewis, Director of award-winning adaptive tech company Dyslexia Box, has been popping into the centre to pick up post and using his office occasionally over the past few months. “Gradually we are spending more and more time back at the office and each time we have been back we have been impressed with the safety and distancing measures that the team at Future Business Centre have implemented,” he comments.

“This gives us increasing confidence that before long, and in-line with government guidance, we will be able to move back to working full time in the office again.”

In addition to private offices, our co-workers are also benefiting from larger spaced rooms, to allow safe spacing, with Perspex screens across desks and, of course, plenty of hand sanitiser. These spaces enable agile working – which we’re adopting across the centres, to allow easy-in and easy-out contracts and flexible access, so your teams can grow or adapt to changing circumstances more easily. Just talk to us about what would make a return to work for you and your teams work best, and we’ll see how we can accommodate that.

Oh, and while the great public transport links we usually boast of are not ideal right now – we are pleased that our centres are cycle friendly, with secure bike racks and maintenance kits available for those unexpected punctures or flat tyres.
So, however and whenever you’re looking to reconnect, move forward and regroup, we look forward to welcoming you to one of our centres sometime soon.