Work

It was Sheffield’s workers who made the city internationally famous in the 19th century, pioneering developments in steel that changed the world. Though heavy industry has declined in recent decades, much of the city’s workforce keeps alive its heritage of technological innovation. And Sheffield’s reputation for cutting-edge enterprise continues to define much of its changed economy. The city centre is now home to thousands of public and private enterprises. The number of creative, digital and media industries in Sheffield has boomed since the 80s. These industries are focussed in central hubs like Electric Works, the Workstation and Sheffield Technology Parks, creating an exciting community of startups and ventures both large and small. They also range from everything from the BBC Radio Sheffield studios to the Plusnet offices, as well as agencies and studios including Field, Llama Digital and Rocca, and co-working space Cubo. The city centre’s unique character, as well as its good connections to rail and road networks, have also attracted global and national corporations. The likes of DLA Piper, Mott MacDonald, Ove Arup, Sky and Zoo Digital have invested in Sheffield, becoming major employers that stand harmoniously alongside the independent business community.

Many renowned architecture, engineering and construction practices have set up home here, such as Jefferson Sheard Architects, HLM Architects, Studio Polpo, and Mott MacDonald. In the fields of law and finance, the city centre houses offices for the likes of Howells, Wake Smith, Wrigleys, Bluestone Credit Management, and UK Steel Enterprise. Among the property agencies in the area are Blundells, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Knight Frank, while in training and recruitment there are Hays, Office Angels and Reed. And from the health sector, companies include Chase Medical, One Medical Group and Westfield Contributory Health Scheme. Together, all of this makes for a vibrant and dynamic city centre, driven by an innovative and creative workforce who reap the benefits of working, socialising and living here. The following pages give just a flavour of some of the independent, office-based businesses who have chosen to invest in the city centre.

Rise at Seven

Carrie Rose and Stephen Kenwright launched creative marketing company Rise at Seven in spring 2019, and within a year turned over £1.5m. They’ve continued to grow at super speed. Between September 2020 and March 2021 they hired new employees at a rate of one a week. They’ve opened a second office in London and have a third on the way in Chicago. 27-year-old Carrie is a breath of fresh air in the usually tight-lipped world of CEOs, sharing on YouTube her day-to-day experiences of building a business. The company pioneers a bold approach to digital PR, seizing opportunities to position brands within trending topics. You may have seen their work for GoCompare, Odeon, and Cath Kidston – and no doubt there’ll be many more to come. 3 St Pauls Place, 129 Norfolk Street, S1 2JE riseatseven.com

Rise at Seven

Union St

Union St is a central hub of co-working, street food and events, which has been cultivating a productive and collaborative atmosphere since it opened its doors in 2014. It offers co-working, hot-desking and desk rental in a friendly shared workspace, with tenants including poets, architects, designers and translators. The workspace itself is bathed in natural light and is decorated with nicely appointed botanicals and work by local artists. You’ll find a barista and in-house cafe, joined each lunchtime by a different food trader with past cuisines on rotation including Korean, vegan and good oldfashioned pie and peas. The venue hosts a vibrant events calendar too, featuring yoga, pilates, an alternative choir, language classes, and more. 18–22 Union Street, S1 2JP union-st.org

Jaywing

Jaywing’s HQ is a beautifully converted former warehouse in Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter. From here, the firm delivers data-driven marketing for companies around the world. Its brand development and creative strategy work has attracted high-profile clients in fields ranging from fashion to finance. Albert Works, Sidney Street, S1 4RG jaywing.com

The folks at Kollider have turned a former Co-op department store into a hub for digital innovation. A landmark in the Castlegate area since the 1960s, Castle House retains many of its original features, including a stunning spiral staircase and woodpanelled boardroom. Now, rather than haberdashery and shoe departments it houses digital and tech startups and coworking spaces. Kollider shares the building with the National Videogame Museum, food court Kommune and events space Kurious.

Tell us a little about the area where Kollider is based.

When we first started redeveloping Castle House, we set out with an agenda to build a tech and creative hub as the core of an ‘innovation district’. We’re nowhere near achieving this goal but we’ve made great progress. Over 400,000 people visited Castle House in the first year (pre-lockdown) – including families and school children enjoying the National Videogame Museum, great food, events and exhibitions at Kommune, and a building filled with wonderful tech and creative companies. Lockdown hasn’t helped (obviously) but hopefully by the summer we’ll see the building become a hive of activity again, and this mood slowly spreading across the district as other buildings are brought back into meaningful use.

What makes Kollider such an appealing workspace for tech and digital businesses?

The tech incubator is an Eagle Lab, which draws a great deal of support and expertise for emerging high growth tech companies in the form of mentoring and workshops. We’re also a visa endorsing body, so Kollider has the opportunity to bring some fabulous overseas talent to the city. Added to this is the interaction of a few scaled multinational tech companies, which pre-lockdown were beginning to blend with the younger talent. Finally, the incubator is one of three games development hubs in the UK, which supports an industry that Sheffield companies have been leaders in over the past decade, and which is now bringing in some great games dev companies from overseas.

What impact do you hope to have on the city with your startup and visa schemes?

The original aspiration, to work with our partners to build a tech and creative innovation district, hasn’t changed. It takes many forms, and each has a positive impact on the district and the city. Importantly, we’re seeking to do this in a commercially sustainable way, so the primary driver (and impact) will be the creation and scaling of businesses in the relevant sectors. This in turn relies on an exciting supportive sociable environment, training, an outward looking economy, safe streets, the development of education and aspiration for children, good relationships with local and national government, universities and the wider commercial world to draw on investment and expertise. We don’t have all the answers (in fact we sometimes don’t have any). We rely on having great partners and staff to work with, for which we’re very grateful.

Castle House, Castle Street, S3 8LS kollider.co

Kollider

– Nick Morgan

Workstation

Workstation

The Workstation is the flagship business centre for creative and digital industries. Connected to the independent Showroom Cinema next door, it’s a natural home for film-related organisations – including the international documentary film festival Sheffield Doc/ Fest; The Children’s Media Conference; the BFI’s Film Hub North; Cinema For All; and film production company 104 Films. Other creative tenants include app developers 57 Digital, design studio Diva, and theatre company Forced Entertainment. And it’s from the Workstation that community radio and TV station Sheffield Live! broadcasts to the city by day and night. 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX showroomworkstation.org.uk

Sheffield Technology Parks

Close to Sheffield station, the Millennium Gallery and the excellently brewed coffee of Tamper: Sellers Wheel, Sheffield Technology Parks couldn’t be in a better location. The non-profit specialist IT and technology business centre is home to innovative, entrepreneurial businesses including software companies like SkillsLogic, digital consultancy firm Rocca Creative, and podcasting experts Rebel Base Media. Cooper Buildings, Arundel Street, S1 2NS shefftechparks.com

Sheffield Technology Parks

Electric Works

Electric Works is the landmark building in phase one of the evolving Sheffield Digital Campus – a £110 million development opposite Sheffield station which aims to be one of Europe’s most technologically advanced business sites. The unique, ultra-modern office and events space is home to a lively hub of creative, digital, IT and multimedia companies. Offering hot-desking, shortterm project office hire and a range of flexible spaces, it has something to suit the small startup and the large-scale organisation alike. And if that wasn’t enough to put smiles on its tenants’ faces, Electric Works is also home to a huge, threestory helter-skelter, sliding from the top floor to the reception. Sheffield Digital Campus, S1 2BJ electric-works.net