News: Rotherham confirmed as UK's best location for incubation and enterprise services

Rotherham, currently recognised as the most enterprising place in Britain, has now been recognised as having the best integrated incubation and enterprise services in the country.

Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO), the regeneration arm of Rotherham Council has been awarded the Incubation Champion Award for 2011 by UK Business Incubation (UKBI), the leading professional body in the field.

This is the second time that Rotherham has won the award in recent years, having previously held the title in 2005.

Key to Rotherham's success was the recognition by UKBI of the Council's commitment to providing incubation services through their business centres over the last ten years and also how an enterprise culture is being embedded across the borough, through an integrated package of support and activities.

Paul Woodcock, Director of Planning and Regeneration for Rotherham Council said: "It is terrific to be recognised by the UKBI for the work that has been undertaken over the past ten years, and continues to be undertaken in Rotherham around providing incubation and enterprise services."

Over the last ten years the Council's business centre programme has supported over 400 businesses and helped create nearly 1000 jobs. And with survival rates of over 80% for business centre clients in their first three years of trading (against a national average nearer 60%) the merits of the support offered by the business centres has been proven.

RiDO now has four centres, located across the borough at Century, Moorgate Crofts, Templeborough and Dinnington providing over 200 office and workshop units.

In 2010 RiDO Business Centres became the only business centres in England to join the ranks of the National Business Incubation Association's (NBIA) Soft Landings International Incubators. RiDO now works with other NBIA members in the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, France and the Netherlands to identify companies that are considering exploring the UK market, or are looking to use the UK as a base for further European activities.

Rotherham Investment and Development Office

Images: RiDO