INSIGHTS / News

Engine Shed hosted a visit from the new Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid, today to announce £10bn in cuts to red tape for businesses.

Mr Javid delivered the speech in the town where he grew up. He met with Engine Shed and SETsquared Bristol Director, Nick Sturge, and heard about the work Engine Shed is doing with universities and local councils working together. Engine Shed has already contributed £8m to the UK economy since its opening in December 2013.

Nick Sturge commented: “We are delighted to host this visit today on behalf of the West of England to demonstrate the possibilities of a Great Western powerhouse. Our track ready already of bringing together businesses with local authorities and universities is building the momentum towards an expansion of Engine Shed.”

The Minister said, in addition to access to funding for businesses, access to mentoring is crucial. Engine Shed offers this through its two business incubators, SETsquared Bristol and WebStart Bristol.

Karl Wills from Pelipod, a company that has been part of the Bristol SETsquared centre since February, said “It’s a fantastic opportunity that SETsquared presented in being able to speak with the Secretary of State and to give Pelipod a higher profile. The Minister liked the product and the concept and could see it being of real use for delivery to businesses as well as consumers.  It was interesting to hear the proposal for the inclusion in the Queen’s Speech and it will be very exciting to see that delivered.”