Since its official opening this July, the impressive £4.2million Alliston Centre located at Farm491’s agritech incubation and enterprise hub at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is gaining overwhelming interest from innovators looking to develop a technological solution to benefit food and farming.

A space for spearheading business innovation

Named after the late Professor John Alliston, who was Emeritus Professor of Agriculture at the RAU, the centre is a base for Gloucestershire businesses of all kinds and a headquarters for innovators working across the UK’s agriculture and land-based industries. The 15,000 sq ft building, which has been open since 31 July, will create a collaborative, entrepreneurial community where businesses can be born and developed. The building also presents SME’s who need a multi-location presence with a central location and flexible working environment. In addition to the practical space, members who take up occupancy can collaborate, form partnerships and make valuable contacts to support the advancement of their own business growth.

Six weeks down the line since opening, Farm491 programme manager, Ali Hadavizadeh shares his insight on what the new building can offer members and how it can really impact the dynamic and growing agritech sector.

Five top reasons to start up your business at The Alliston Centre

  • 1. State of the art incubation hub with modern interior – dedicated offices, bright and airy hot-desking spaces, nook pods, meeting rooms, a fully equipped kitchen and shower facilities.
  • 2. Professional, cutting-edge working space and collaborative environment to network and collaborate with other members and innovators.
  • 3. Access to meeting areas that will impress your business partners and customers.
  • 4. Everything from access to your own private workspace to over 1,000 acres of arable farmland for product testing and trialing.
  • 5. Close connection with the Royal Agricultural University with valuable access to agricultural academia.

Ali Hadavizadeh added: “The Alliston Centre offers a flexible, high-tech office environment that will help small start-ups, established businesses and individual entrepreneurs to thrive and collaborate. The building incorporates environmental design features such as high insulation, master temperature control, lighting control based on sensor movement, fibre optic broadband connectivity and a mobile phone booster kit. It is optimised for natural light surrounded by countryside views and with plenty of parking. Its lift, automatic doors and toilets are all designed to be fully accessible.”

“Open collaborative work spaces will help your team to thrive and offers the potential for expansion. The professional reception offers your business sophistication – making you stand out among competitors.”

He concludes: “The agritech sector is thriving in the UK with more and more people investing in technology to support business performance, efficiency and growth. This advancement is only likely to be accelerated by Brexit. Technology already does and will continue to play an important part in farming businesses and the purpose of The Alliston Centre is to support technological development and business innovation.”