The company operates flexible workspaces to give individuals and other organisations the opportunity to start and grow their particular enterprise without a long term commitment or high financial cost. The aim of the company is to promote and facilitate economic growth and creative enterprise in the local area. Since our last accounting period to end of Sept 2023 the company has benefited the local community by: - Providing a further 4 newly refurbished studio spaces to rent on all inclusive, affordable terms. - Negotiated new leases with existing tenants in the buildings to allow these long standing tenants to continue to thrive and provide local employment opportunities. - Established a new home for a national accountancy firm looking to expand employment in the area. - Continued to host 3 separate networking events on a monthly basis together with Federation of Small Business, East Kilbride Business Network and Revitalise Business Connections to help local businesses and individuals collaborate and support each other. - Providing the local Business Gateway team and council with facilities to hold their regular monthly drop in sessions and ad hoc information sessions. - Provide a base for VASLAN and other 3rd Sector organisations to hold in person gatherings and events on free or heavily discounted terms. - Support member businesses to overcome temporary financial hardship by giving them discounted licence terms and reduced rental charges. - Providing a 20% discount on services to all 3rd Sector and charity organisations. - Continuing to provide studio space free of charge to charitable organisations in the process of applying for funding, currently we provide 3 studios rent free on this basis., as well as 5 other studios used as temporary storage. - Promoting the interests of all members via our social media presence and in person events and signposting to more advice and support as necessary. - Collaborated with South Lanarkshire College to provide work placements for students studying Business and Administration.

The company stakeholders are local residents, business owners and creative practitioners in and around East Kilbride together with the local South Lanarkshire Council and owners of the adjoining East Kilbride Shopping Centre. The company directors grew up locally and have a long standing connection to the town and local area. The company has continued to engage with local Councillors including current council leader Joe Fagan, MSPs Collette Stevenson and previously Linda Fabiani and MP Lisa Cameron as well as facilitate numerous onsite visits and held regular meetings with officers of South Lanarkshire Council. We are cognisant of the council's aspirations for the town centre and see the CIC as an unofficial partner to achieve these aims to promote the town centre as a centre of economic and creative enterprise. Our facilities are at the council's disposal to assist in this aim. The recent masterplan exercise to revamp the town centre has provided us with the opportunity to offer our business space as the de facto enterprise centre for the town. We have been liaising with local Citizens Advice Bureau and the professional advisers to the local EK Shopping Centre owners to create more accessible coworking and community event space in the public areas of the town centre. This work continues as the plans for the centre evolve in response to occupier demand and investor appetite to invest in the town. As our premises are physically attached to the EK Shopping Centre with common entrance ways, we have regular contact with the Shopping Centre Management and seek to work with them to provide meeting room services for the shopping centre retailers and by bringing multiple new occupiers to the area this increases the footfall in the centre. We have maintained our provision of additional car parking to the members of EK Collective via our relationship with the Centre Owners - providing an enhanced service to our members and increased footfall through the centre. We host events for our business members to facilitate their own business growth and also to provide training and awareness sessions throughout the year. We create bespoke social media promotional material for our members to showcase their organisations and promote them via all our connections. We survey members to get feedback on our performance via online portals and where we can we seek to implement any recommendations to improve our service levels and provide what our members need.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration