My Sophomore Year at Future Space: Results from innovating at the edge

Article by Matt Freeman, Centre Director at Future Space Bristol

Future Space is a partner for Growth Forge 2025, a business acceleration programme for ambitious tech companies. Learn more here.

Almost two years into leading an innovation centre that sits squarely on the threshold between university and startup life, I’ve come to realise just how challenging – and yet strangely addictive – it can be to work on the edge.

Now, as I approach the end of my sophomore year at the helm of Future Space, our innovation centre for trailblazing high-tech businesses based at the University of the West of England, it’s time to look back at the year in numbers. Not with a press release or a glossy end-of-year report – but with honesty, pride, and maybe a bit of disbelief.

Because despite a year full of economic headwinds and market uncertainty, Future Space has had one of its most impactful years to date. Still floating, still flying – here is our year in impact at Future Space…

A thriving, growing innovation community

Let’s start with the bricks-and-mortar stuff – because occupancy isn’t just a metric, it’s a sign that people believe in what we’re building.

• W-Block (our 10,000 square feet of expanded office and lab space, opened just last year) is now at 90% occupancy – an incredible feat
• 17 new businesses joined us this year – one up on the previous year
• And a record for our shared lab businesses: for the first time in Future Space history, all 10 lab benches are now occupied by 10 different businesses

In a market where demand for physical space is shifting, we’ve shown that the right kind of space – with community, collaboration and support baked in – still matters.

Let’s be real: this wasn’t an easy year for tech funding. Investments across the South West dropped significantly – by up to 40%, according to Tech South West. And yes, this impacted us too: our trailblazing startups raised less overall than the year before.

But this only tells part of the story. While capital was tighter, the ecosystem got smarter. More intentional. More efficient. That meant us formalising how we work with advisors, bringing on board a host of sponsored Business Partners across different business functions to provide the best support to our community exactly when they need it most:

• Countex – Business Partner for Finance & Accountancy
• Abel + Imray – Business Partner for Intellectual Property
• Hayes Parsons – Business Partner for Insurance & Risk Management
• Program – Business Partner for Brand & Marketing

This shows that even when venture capital cools, value doesn’t disappear – it just shifts shape. And we’re becoming better at capturing and circulating it.

University collaboration is up – and working 

One of the biggest wins this year? We’ve made serious progress in turning the university-startup partnership from a nice idea into a working system – really turning the dial in how we support R&D against a challenging environment.

• 80% of Future Space businesses worked with UWE Bristol, either with students, academics, accessing facilities or skills training – that’s up 32% in a single year.
• Over 300 students across UWE Bristol worked with our businesses this year, facilitating 46 student consultancy projects – that’s up 87% on last year!
• 54 employees from Future Space businesses signed up for one of the university’s professional skills training courses – that’s up 38% on last year.

These aren’t just tick-box collaborations – they’re real, valuable experiences that improve business growth and graduate outcomes alike. It’s why Future Space stood out in the recent government report on the impact of the UK’s University Enterprise Zones, with our centre consistently maintaining both its business support offer and its academic engagement, something few other centres have achieved over time.

Awards, accolades and appreciation

We don’t chase awards for the shelf appeal (although they do look rather wonderful on our shelves!). But this year, we were recognised by some incredible partners who really get what we’re trying to do:

• Commitment to Talent Winner 2025 (techSPARK)
• Commitment to Talent Winner 2024 (Tech South West)
• Supporting the Sector Winner 2024 (Tech South West)
• Community Award Winner 2024 (techSPARK)

Each of these awards speaks to a different strand of what we value – people, ecosystem, impact. To win across all three means a lot.

Oh – and in case you’re wondering how it felt from inside the community?

We closed the year with a 97% customer satisfaction rate. That’s up 7% on last year. That’s not just a number – it’s trust.

A year that wasn’t always easy, but was always worth it

Yes, we saw a dip in investment for our community. Yes, building a house on the edge of academia and industry still feels a bit like carpentry during an earthquake. But we also saw record engagement, smarter funding, meaningful impact, and perhaps the highest levels of collaboration in our 9-year history.

And – perhaps most incredibly of all – we helped create a massive 150 brand new jobs this year. In a market where many are scaling back, our community expanded – greatly. And more of those jobs went to UWE graduates than ever before – real proof that when startups and universities work together, good things happen.

The takeaway? Innovation is still alive – and personal

If there’s one thing this year taught me, it’s that innovation doesn’t slow down when markets do. It just gets more resourceful. More collaborative. More grounded. And as we look ahead to next year, I’m reminded that it’s the people that make Future Space what it is.

That’s what we’re building here. Not hype, but space and support for trailblazing people. So, if you’ve been part of that journey – thank you. And if you’re looking for a community that’s fully committed to making innovation work for the real world, with high-spec workspace surrounded by business support, university R&D and next-gen talent all under one roof, our door’s open. Come join us on the edge. Get in touch with Future Space.