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EDITION 1
b 2 b Club Launch – A Great Success
Bloxham Mill Business Centre
Barford Road, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 4FF
tel +44 (0)1295 722807 | email enquiries@bloxhammill.com | web www.bloxhammill.com
Know your neighbour
Networkers enjoying the event
Prize winner Stuart Moore with Ray Avery
MAY 2009
Main operation
Gusto Games is an independent video games developer, in that we have a teams of designers, programmers and artists that come up with new video game ideas and bring them to life! We work with major publishers and platform holders such as Sony and Nintendo and make games for pretty much everything from Playstation3, Wii and Xbox360 to iPhones, Facebook and the web.
Business Highlight
Personally for me, it has to be some of the recognition I have received. Winning Oxfordshire's Young Business Person of the year a few years ago and featuring in the industries 'Top 30 under 30' for 4 consecutive years (I'm 30 this year, so I can hang up my joysticks on that one now!!). For the company, getting to work on high profile games such as 'Championship Manager' which is widely regarded as one of the worlds best soccer management games.
Staff
We have around 50 staff made up of Games Designers, Graphic Artists and Programmers.
Best Business Decision
This has to be following gut instinct and not selling the business a few years ago. It was very flattering to receive an offer and very difficult to turn it down, but with the benefit of hindsight, it was definitely the right decision.
Worst Business Decision
I should probably keep that one to myself.
If I didn't do my current job
I got into the games industry through a hobby and if I weren't doing this then it would have to be my other hobby that is slowly going mad! Motor Racing. I race a Lotus Elise in the Elise Trophy and Lotus Cup Europe that sees me dragging my family all across Europe - I'd love to do it fully professionally.
Simon Phillips
Managing Director,
Gusto Games Ltd
Bloxham Mill Business Centre celebrated the successful launch of its quarterly networking b2b club at the end of March, which was sponsored by Bloxham Mill’s new technology company, bm-it. After a warm welcome from General Manager, Ray Avery, key sponsor, Colin Deamer of bm-it then took to the floor and explained how bm-it has been created and built on the IT success already provided by Bloxham Mill. Co sponsors also included Business Link, Federation of Small Businesses and “the best of banbury”.
The inaugural meeting was addressed by triple world record holder and motivational speaker, Steve Cunningham who holds the blind world land and sea speed records and was also the first blind person to fly a plane around the UK.
Steve Cunningham told us “As a local business man I was delighted to be asked to launch the b2b club and wish it every success. In these uncertain economic times business people have to be prepared to take their own decisions and have vision about what the future holds.”
Ray Avery, the General Manager of Bloxham Mill and Operations Director of bm-it confirmed “the meeting was a great start to what I am sure will become one of the region's favourite networking events. Over 70 guests attended and were enthralled to hear what Steve has achieved both in his personal and business life. Steve was an inspiration to all who heard him”
Congratulations also go to Stuart Moore, Director of Plus One Personnel, who won lunch for 2 at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in the business Card Prize Draw.
After the presentations, guests had the opportunity to network and enjoy the wonderful buffet provided by Bloxham Mill Business Centre.
The next meeting of the b2b club is on the 25th June, the guest speaker is businesswoman, author and record breaking explorer Sue Stockdale.
To register for this event email admin@bm-it.co.uk or call 01295 724545.
It’s official! A lot of people who work from Bloxham Mill aren’t all there!
You may not be aware that Bloxham Mill has a popular and expanding group of “virtual” customers making the most of the convenience and economy of working from home, but at the same time taking advantage of a professional, business "presence”.
In the first quarter of this year we published the results of a recent independent survey carried out on behalf of Bloxham Mill. The results were very encouraging and revealed that location, professionalism and value for money were the key reasons for choosing the services offered by Bloxham Mill Business Centre.
The survey, conducted at the end of 2008, found that the majority (over 80%) of Virtual clients used the service to:-
• Create the right professional image
• To make sure business calls are all answered
and not missed
• To use the prestigious business address.
The survey also discovered that:
• 66% benefit from using the on-site meeting
room facilities
• 60% make good use of the Café to meet
informally with clients and contacts
• Over 30% take advantage of the secretarial
services available.
Thank you once again to all those who took part in the survey and congratulations to Shane Rooney of Oxtec Management, the lucky winner of the prize draw who received not any old store vouchers but “M and S” vouchers!
If you would like to learn more about the virtual office services at Bloxham Mill please contact Ray Avery on 01295-722800 or visit www.bloxhammill.com
In what we hope will become a regular feature of “The News @ Bloxham Mill”, we are delighted to profile one of our customers. To start the series off, we are grateful to Simon Phillips of Gusto Games who has agreed to bare all to our intrepid reporter!
