On Tuesday, 7th June, Plus X Innovation hubs were delighted to be named 'Best Newcomer in Commercial Property' at Property Week's prestigious Property Awards 2022.
In a competitive category with 13 other brilliant property professionals, judges called out Plus X Innovation for being A great business with an amazing ethos that is doing everything right. This win marks a major milestone for Plus X Innovation as we embark on our ambitious plans to scale. Over the next five years, we aim to open 25 innovation hubs across the UK, providing vital business support programmes and state-of-the-art workspace in areas that may not traditionally have encouraged innovation.
Launching in 2019, Plus X Innovation currently encompasses Central Research Laboratory in West London and Plus X Innovation Brighton. The Brighton innovation hub was formed to create a community-driven hub for businesses of all sizes situated in the Preston Barracks regeneration project. Despite opening at the height of the pandemic, Plus X Brighton has gone from strength to strength, with more than 350 businesses calling the space home and another 75 businesses receiving business support through the BRITE project in partnership with the University of Brighton. Funding, curating and delivering some of the most renowned accelerator and innovation programmes in the UK is essential to the Plus X model, having secured over £25m in grant funding since launch.
Plus X Innovation actively monitors social return on investment value and is committed to delivering a positive socio-economic return on every capital investment. Plus X Innovation Brighton has delivered £32.5m worth of local impact since its launch in June 2020. We are also committed to reaching operational net zero by 2030 through policies including zero-to-landfill waste, only green electricity supply and limiting carbon miles, and working with property partners to include green energy generating and water harvesting technologies in our buildings.
We also partner with corporate businesses to help them achieve their innovation goals, connect with agile startups, and inspire employees with radical ideas and new approaches. Companies including Kimberly-Clarke and Natura &Co joined our Better World Collective initiative to help achieve ambitious sustainability goals and reduce their environmental impact.
Emma Lindsay, Head of Location Marketing at Plus X Innovation said, "Winning Best Newcomer at the Property Awards is a huge honour that we don't take lightly. To us, this signifies a deep level of support from the property industry that will only spur us on to reach our goals. We want to help ambitious businesses grow, make local economies more resilient, and make a positive impact - and we're only just getting started!"
The win follows other recent awards success for both our London and Brighton innovation hubs. This includes Plus X Innovation Brighton being highly commended in the OAS Development Awards in the New Build Outside of London category. Central Research Laboratory in Hayes, West London, has also been shortlisted for the upcoming Hustle Awards for their outstanding work supporting startups through their programmes and workspace.
If you'd like to learn more about our future plans, or discuss a potential partnership, please contact Co-CEO and Co-Founder Paul Rostas on paulrostas@plusxinnovation.com.