First and foremost, the team has continued to grow, I can’t believe we’re now nearly 30 people! It only feels like yesterday when it was just me and a couple of interns. It’s been exciting seeing some of the key hires we’ve made to the team and the impact that’s been having on our business.
One area in particular that we’re really proud of is our prison leaver programme which has continued to grow from strength to strength. Three months ago we hired another prison leaver, and it’s been really exciting seeing the changes an opportunity has made to that individual’s life, with the right training and the impact they can have on our business and wider society as well.
Secondly, we’ve continued to grow in terms of the buildings we’ve been taking on. I’m incredibly excited to announce over the last three months we’ve taken on two of our largest buildings of all time. One is a 60,000 square-foot former school in Central London. It’s amazing to see the transformation taking place there, it’s even got a gym on the top floor and a basketball court – it really is an incredible space.
Second is an 80,000 square-foot office building in Elephant and Castle working with our arts partner. We’re going to be delivering nearly 300 affordable artist studios, exhibition spaces, and partner up with a number of local charities and initiatives. In terms of social impact, it’s going to be an incredible building and were incredibly excited to share it with you once its been launched.
Looking back on 2024, it’s been amazing to see some of our partners really understanding the impact meanwhile spaces can have on their development sites and the placemaking before a spade goes in the ground. I want to give a massive shoutout to one of our clients, ECDC, who are transforming Earl’s Court. They’ve just won the NLA Award for Meanwhile Projects which is incredible to see, they’ve engaged with over 15 different operators including ourselves, bars, pubs, artist’s studios, Padel courts… you name it, they’ve done it and it’s been really really great to see their journey of getting the community fully engaged from day one and this is a trend we’d like to see more of in 2025.
For 2025, what does the outlook look like? Well first and foremost, the demand for affordable housing and access for affordable creative spaces is going nowhere. We’ve seen the demand across our business increase over 30% from this time last year and if anything that’s only going to increase, so what do we want to see? We really want to encourage anyone who’s got a vacant building to do something good with it. That doesn’t need to be with us but make sure that you’re bringing life into your building because you’ll see the impact not only on your cost savings but also what that can have on your wider development when you’re engaged with the local community.
Finally, a special mention to a number of charitable partners which we’ve worked very closely with over the last year. Firstly, with Regenerate, it’s a charity very close to my heart. They provide amazing opportunities for young people in South London through employment, youth centres, sports and activities and its been amazing to support those guys on the journey they’re going on.
Second is Solidarity Sports, one of our partners which currently occupy one of the buildings we manage. They do amazing projects with young people who’ve not had the easiest start to life. It’s been really rewarding working with them and seeing them continue to grow as well.
I hope you’ve had a fantastic year and wish you a fantastic Christmas and Happy New Year, and that 2025 is a great year for you.