Barclays’ flagship Manchester Eagle Lab, located at Bruntwood’s Union building on Albert Square, has officially opened for business with a packed Autumn events schedule.
The 8,000 square foot Lab, laid out over two floors, incorporates a brand-new café, an 80-seat auditorium, co-working and breakout space at street level and a combination of private offices, meeting rooms and breakout spaces on the first floor.
Created as a space for businesses and ambitious entrepreneurs to scale and grow their ventures, and to innovate by adopting cutting edge technologies, the Manchester Eagle Lab is the seventeenth launched by Barclays, following successful sites in locations including London, Liverpool, Cambridge and Cardiff.
Barclays and Bruntwood are now inviting entrepreneurs, businesses and members of the public to experience what the flagship incubator space has to offer and to benefit from its state-of-the-art facilities.
These include the Lab’s Break Fast Bar café, located on the ground floor of Union, which is providing a new food and beverage amenity in the heart of Manchester’s financial district.
Open to the public, the café, which offers locally baked artisan bread products along with breakfast pots, soups and a selection of ciabatta and focaccia sandwiches is managed by the award-winning team behind Manchester’s Teacup Kitchen, Cafe at the Museum and Cafe at the Cathedral.
The Lab has launched a packed Autumn events programme, offering more than 30 events. These include early bird breakfast meetings, designed to help start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs to meet other entrepreneurs and professionals in friendly and sociable environment, and pizza and beer networking sessions, events which are open to the local business community.
All businesses based at the Manchester Barclays Eagle Lab benefit from the support of a dedicated Eco-System Manager and on-site Barclays Business Managers who provide help and advice to local companies and entrepreneurs from across the city. The Eagle Lab also acts as the Manchester base for Barclays’ Digital Eagles community activity.
Andrew Butterworth, Commercial Director, Bruntwood, said: “The Eagle Lab opening represents a significant milestone, both for our landmark Union building and Bruntwood’s ongoing mission to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The fantastic blend of flexible, collaborative workspace, outstanding facilities, expert business support and growth-orientated events, that Union and the Eagle Lab offer is already proving a successful draw for ambitious businesses in the city and we look forward to many more joining this like-
minded community. We’re also delighted to be able to offer a new amenity for the general public right in the centre of the city, with the Break Fast Bar café.”
Matt Priestley, Ecosystem Manager at the Barclays Eagle Lab in Manchester, commented: “We recognise the importance of supporting entrepreneurs, start-ups and accelerating high-growth companies, and the vital role they play in creating a sustainable, prosperous Manchester economy.
“Whether you’re an inventor, innovator or mentor, our Eagle Lab is the perfect space to digitally empower your business, supporting scale-up opportunities, collaboration and innovation.”
