Reading: GROW@GreenPark welcomes Black Swan
Co-working space and innovation hub GROW@GreenPark has welcomed data science start-up Black Swan to its Reading location. This is the first time the thriving Reading hub has accommodated a business headquartered in London.
Black Swan was founded in 2011 by Steve King and Hugo Amos, and now has a team of 250 with office locations including New York, LA, Toronto and Budapest as well as London, Exeter and Bristol. Expansion to Reading is part of its global strategy to collaborate with clients and business partners; working with brands like PepsiCo, Vodafone and Panasonic make Reading a beneficial location. 10-12 members of the team will work from GROW’s co-working space.
GROW@GreenPark was founded by Louize Clarke two years ago to build a workspace and community for the Thames Valley’s burgeoning start-up scene. It has fast become the go-to location for entrepreneurs, early stage businesses as well as more established scale-ups, and is home to a rich event programme driving the region’s tech and digital agenda.
Earlier this year, Reading’s position in the digital tech economy was consolidated by the Tech Nation 2016 Report. It placed Reading second in terms of its digital turnover (£10 billion) with the third highest density of digital jobs in the UK (40,440 behind London and Manchester).
Clarke commented: “We’re proud of the incredible start-up talent coming through in Reading. It’s hugely rewarding to have businesses like Black Swan recognising this potential and becoming part of our exciting start-up community.”
Mark Bainbridge, Black Swan’s marketing director, added: “Collaboration is absolutely at the heart of the Black Swan ethos and how we work with our business partners. Co-working spaces have really supported our growth strategy – in the UK and globally. They’re a flexible, supportive way to build relationships in a new business territory. With customers on Green Park we’re really excited to be part of GROW@GreenPark."
