Basepoint Centres
Basepoint Business Centres is a UK-based company that specializes in operating flexible business centers.
History
Basepoint was formed in September 1988 to raise funds from the public to buy residential property to let under the assured tenancies legislation introduced by the Housing Act 1988. In 1993 the company elected to extend its interests into commercial property and in 1995 opened its first managed business centre at Romsey, Hampshire. Further centres in the same region followed at Waterlooville, High Wycombe and Weymouth.
In June 2000 the company joined the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), and thereafter the pace of openings picked up markedly, with new centres opening in Havant in October 2000, Basingstoke in April 2001, and Folkestone, Southampton, Andover and Crawley in 2003. 2004 saw new centres open in Gosport and Bournemouth, while 2005 saw a new centre opened in Swindon and the company won a management contract for a centre in Northfleet, Kent, owned by Kent County Council.
At the end of 2005 Basepoint plc was acquired by major shareholder the ACT Foundation, a grant-making charity with a substantial portfolio of property investments, and the company was split into a development arm, Basepoint Developments Ltd, and the division responsible for the management of the centres, Basepoint Centres Ltd. With the resources of its new parent behind it the company continued its expansion programme until by July 2011 it had 28 centres operational across the south of England and up into the Midlands, and a number of others under development, hosting well over 1,800 small businesses.
Business model
The company offers short-term licenses for its premises with a single fee covering all costs except consumables and differentiates itself from other serviced office companies by providing on-site managers who act as a gateway to support start-ups.
Charitable activities
Each centre is tasked to partner with a local charity and contribute money via a £-for-£ matched funding programme by The ACT Foundation, a registered charity, up to a maximum of £10,000.