Financing Freedom: Freedom Works
Co-working and flexible workspace solutions business ‘Freedom Works’ explains how Let’s Do Business Finance has been integral throughout it’s business journey, from it’s creation in 2016, to opening its 9th space in 2022.
Before Freedom Works was created, Owner Jon Trigg had spent many years building a technology business from the ground up, using friends spare rooms, and renting desks where needed. As his business grew he found himself in need of a permanent base, but was disappointed to discover that modern, flexible workspaces were only something that could be found in inner cities. Basing himself closer to his home would mean being tied into long leases, with long notice periods, which long term would be restricting his growth. Spending some time over in Australia he had his eyes opened to workspace that was ideal for the small, yet growing business, where collaboration and community were commonplace and aiding to growth.
As he moved on from that business and was looking for his next venture, he remembered his struggle and took the decision to rectify the problem, by creating a group of shared workspaces, ideal for the different needs of small, growing businesses.
The idea behind Freedom Works was to create a space where like-minded souls could work together, create opportunities to network and collaborate and not have to travel too far from home to get there. There are serviced offices etc in London and big cities but there wasn’t anything like that in smaller towns, and I thought, why should businesses have to travel long distances on the train or in the car to find affordable, flexible, workspace.
— Jon Trigg, Owner, Freedom Works
The business concept was to create 6 spaces across provincial towns along the south of England, starting in Worthing, West Sussex. To get the business off the ground, Jon contacted The Start Up Loans Company to apply for a Start-Up Loan. He was referred to Let’s Do Business Group and accepted for a £25,000 loan to help fit-out the first space, and was assigned a business mentor to help him with his strategy.
I was setting up this new business and I knew it was going to cost some money, Soso whilst I was putting my own money into it, I also did research on if there was there any support at all. Not just financial, but for advice too. Commercial property was something new to me, so it wasn’t just having the funds to invest into the fit out that was beneficial for me, it was having a sounding board to talk things through with
— Jon Trigg, Owner, Freedom Works
Freedom Works launched its first space at The Mill Building in Worthing, opening up 5,000sq ft of commercial space, offering serviced offices, hot desks, permanent desks and meeting rooms. Since then they have opened a further 8 spaces in Hove (2017) Chichester (2018), Gatwick (2019), Southampton (2021), Worthing Creative and Digital Hub (2021) Lancing (2021) Crawley (2022) and most recently Hastings (2022), and have also expanded several of its spaces as demand was outweighing supply. It was when working on his Hastings space, that Jon was reintroduced to Let’s Do Business Finance, reigniting the relationship.
Looking for some funding to support the fit out of the new space, Jon approached Let’s Do Business Finance and applied for a £52,000 loan in December 2022 and then an additional £75,000 in Jan 2023 through the Recovery Loan Scheme.
The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) is a government backed business loan scheme from British Business Bank that supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the Covid-19 pandemic. Providing loans of up to £2million over a maximum of 6 years, loans can be used for a wide range of purposes including managing cash flow, investment and growth.
“We would have really struggled to have got Hastings done without the support of Let’s Do Business Finance, as that funding helped us to unlock further financing, and we were even more delighted to welcome Let’s Do Business Group as one of our founding members at Hastings”
Jon Trigg, Owner, Freedom Works
Demand for workspace like this is at an all time high, with many businesses looking at their working practices and adopting a more hybrid model, allowing employees to be far more flexible on where they work, and employers the opportunity to consider downsizing their existing space. The growth in flexible workspace has been exponential, and it is predicted to be a trend that will continue over the next two years.
What makes Freedom Works spaces stand out, is the flexibility on how you use the space, with either a simple monthly fee or using tokens to use as and when needed for those who have a more fluid approach to office working. The spaces themselves are also designed in a modern, industrial theme, with large, open, bright spaces, and loads of natural light to create a haven for creativity and fresh perspective.
Looking towards the future, Freedom Works have large dreams, the main one being “To have the first co-working space on the moon”. It’s ambitious, but they have made a start after receiving an acre on the moon for a 6th birthday present! However, the main focus for now is ensuring their 4000-4500 members are receiving the best service possible. After years of new projects and space openings, Jon is currently taking a pause; looking at internal processes, making new partnerships, and cementing the membership experience to be the best it can be.
Let’s Do Business Finance have been thrilled to be a part of Freedom Works journey, and look forward to eventually visiting Freedom Works on the Moon!
I had known Let’s Do Business Group back from when I started the business as they had provided my Start-Up Loan, but we reconnected when I was looking at the building in Hastings. Our relationship has gone full circle, and they have been integral throughout in helping us get to where we want to be.
— Jon Trigg, Owner, Freedom Works
To find out more about Freedom Works – Visit the website - https://www.freedomworks.space/