Norfolk-based consultancy and training provider, The RedCat Partnership, has moved to bespoke new premises in the heart of Norwich.
The company, which was founded in 1999, delivers a wide range of courses and expert consultancy in health & safety and food safety compliance, and is an accredited training centre for a wide range of awarding bodies, including Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC), Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), for the delivery of health and safety, food safety and environmental management courses. They are also a Premium Centre for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).
The move to new premises heralds a new era for the company, which has invested over £500,000 in designing a bespoke suite of Business Rooms in Thorpe Road, opposite Norwich train station. No expense has been spared to create four state-of-the-art flexible training and meeting rooms, two of which feature interactive Smart Boards and one with a camera for webinar/ recording needs, and all of which enjoy super-fast/ 5GHZ’ Wi-Fi (for those with a technical download is 152mbs with 22mbs upload), flip charts and a writable wipe clean Magnetic Glass Board. In addition, the building features a sound-proof ‘pod’ – offering complete privacy and comfort for those all-important private meetings.
Richard Mills, Co-Founder and Director of The RedCat Partnership said:
“We have been using meeting rooms throughout Norwich since we established the company 16 years ago, and whilst many of them are absolutely wonderful, we found that no one place delivered 100% of what we require to deliver our training to the standard we extend to our clients. So we decided to create our own, and with private off-road parking and five incredible storeys, Number 8 Thorpe Road offered the ideal venue!
The entire building has been refurbished to an extremely high standard and offers light and airy spaces, complemented by exceptional comfort facilities, in which to deliver our services.”
However, the move to new premises has also seen the development of a range of new services which are now being offered by the RedCat Partnership, as Sarah Daniels, Co-Founder and Director of The RedCat Partnership explains:
“As we began to develop the idea of creating our own training facility, we recognised a gap in the market for flexible working space in the centre of the city, where individuals can establish themselves permanently or rent space by the hour, day, week or month.”
As such The Business Rooms at Number 8 was created, offering a range of supplementary business services, including reception services, virtual office, hot-desking and individual desk rental; ideal for start-ups, entrepreneurs or those just wishing to expand. With off-street parking, secure lockers, CCTV, and extensive catering facilities, including kitchen and lounge area with contemporary café style tables, hot-desk bar and sofa, they have thought of everything to create a comfortable working environment for their business users.
As a local company delivering services to businesses throughout Norfolk and Suffolk, husband and wife team Richard and Sarah were passionate that they should use only local contractors and suppliers to help them realise their dream, and as such have worked with an impressive list of local businesses to create their vision, including Snelling Business Systems, King’s & Barnhams, Norfolk Cordials, Bishops Building Services, Paul Wade Decorators, JS Seating & Desking, Warnings, Paddy & Scotts, Kandula, Paul Marco Photography, Naked Marketing CIM, Signs, Social B and Flowers By Nicole. Even the hand-cream in the restrooms is supplied by the Norfolk-based company, Fielding Cottage!
With the premises opening their doors at the start of March, Sarah and Richard are already delighted to welcome a number of regular users to their business services, one of whom is Hugo Cass from Amanita Acoustics, who explains:
“Number 8 is an ideal venue for my business. Not only does my business work in synergy with the RedCat Partnership, but the new premises also gives me a professional and friendly environment from which to base my services.”
In addition to the expansion into new premises, the move has also seen the creation of two new full time roles within the RedCat Partnership, as Jo Fortner and Sharon Abel join the team as Venue Hosts; taking bookings, managing the building, answering phones and undertaking the extensive administration the new premises requires.
Sarah Daniels went on to explain:
“We spared no expense to create these fantastic training rooms and business premises and wanted to be sure they were further enhanced by the outstanding customer service for which The RedCat Partnership is so well known. So we have created the role of Venue Host, which is shared by Jo and Sharon, to cover the extensive hours the building is open for our users. We passionately believe that by creating a highly professional, yet relaxed and slightly funky business environment, we will be able to support business people in Norfolk incubate and grow their companies and realise their dreams, as we have realised ours.”
And another new resident in the building is Octavia the baby Go Go Dragon. Part of the BREAK charity’s family of Go Go Dragons, which will be seen across the city this summer, Octavia has found her home with the RedCat family and will soon receive her ‘Fiery Finery’, as she is decorated in burnt orange, with space in which people can post positive messages. With artwork being delivered by Jamie, one of the many people whom local charity The Norwich Leap supports, her aim is to stamp out the stigma surrounding homelessness in the county.
With just a few refinements taking place at Number 8, the new home of The RedCat Partnership is now open for business and welcomes enquiries from individuals and businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk who are looking for health & safety and food safety consultancy, or who would like to use the state-of-the-art new premises.