Marketing Derby confirms move to university’s £75m Cavendish Building

Marketing Derby has announced it will be moving its headquarters to the University of Derby’s new state-of-the-art Cavendish Building in the heart of the city centre.

At a Bondholder event held this morning at the Agard Street building, the Queen’s Award-winning inward investment promotion agency for the Derby area confirmed it will relocate to the £75 million seven-storey scheme, which is also the new home of the Derby International Business School.

John Forkin, managing director at Marketing Derby, said: “We are delighted to announce our move to the university’s stunning new Cavendish Building.

“Marketing Derby is an organisation which, supported by over 350 local business Bondholders, likes to be at the heart of our changing city – so what better place to be than this state-of-the-art building, which is a vibrant hub for business, academia, new thinking and community.

“We are particularly pleased to be strengthening our relationship with the university through this move.

“Over many years, we have worked closely together for the betterment of the city. The Cavendish Building itself is a perfect illustration of the university’s commitment to Derby, particularly the city centre.

“We look forward to continuing our mission to make Derby the city of choice for inward investors from our new home.”

The Cavendish Building, which officially opened last month, aims to set a blueprint for how universities can work effectively and meaningfully with industry, offering a space where businesses can access the university’s training, research and talent.

To achieve this efficiently, the second and sixth floors of The Cavendish Building have rentable office space designed for small, medium and large businesses with rooms for between four and 20-plus people.

Marketing Derby is among the first tenants to take space at the building – the others are Bondholders the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter Business Improvement Districts, marketing and design firm MacMartin and thermal window company Blind Screen.

Kathryn Allen, head of investment at Marketing Derby, which is a strategic partner of the university, said: “Marketing Derby is thrilled to be among the first businesses to take space at the Cavendish Building.

“We would like to extend our thanks to the team at the University of Derby for their support in helping make this move happen.

“Derby’s talent offer is a key part of attracting inward investment. We work closely with our Bondholder education and skills providers at school, FE, HE level and beyond to help shape the city’s pitch and on tangible inward investments, where their innovations and industry engagement gives us a competitive advantage.”

As well as office space, occupants of The Cavendish Building benefit from access to specialist spaces within its walls, such as a high-tech creativity lab, fully equipped trading floor, specialist supply chain lab and an immersive extended reality suite to develop learning in a virtual environment.

They are also able to make use of the on-site cafe, library and communal spaces, as well as have access to student talent and new ideas.

Dr Matt Snowden, associate provost for industry engagement at the University of Derby, said: “The Cavendish Building is a fantastic facility and will be the go-to hub for businesses, supporting the university’s ambition to be the “University for Industry”.

“Our aim from the outset was for The Cavendish Building to have a focus on co-location and co-creation where industry, academics and students can work together to ignite ideas and solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

“We are delighted to have attracted a diverse and innovative range of businesses that will call this new, vibrant building home.”

To find out more about the co-working space at the University of Derby’s new Cavendish Building click here.