Cheltenham's new MX Innovation Centre opens applications for business growth programme

By Nicky Godding

19 March 2024

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MX Innovation Centre Cheltenham

After some delays, a new working space for local technology startups and scale ups, the urban Minster Exchange (MX) rejuvenation scheme, a partnership between Cheltenham Brough Council and Hub8 by Plexal, is nearing completion.

The MX spans 20,000 sq ft of innovation facilities, including workspace, The Growth Hub to support business development, café and space for events and education, while the external Minster Gardens area has been landscaped with new seating, lighting and CCTV.

In line with the MX Innovation Centre’s commitment to support the town’s business community, Hub8 by Plexal has opened applications for a new Grown in Cheltenham programme.

It’s an opportunity for Cheltenham-based founders to fast-track their companies with six months of free, tailored business support.

Interested parties must meet the following criteria: (1) Be an early-stage startup in Cheltenham (2) Either business must be registered in Cheltenham and/or its impact is significantly felt within the borough (3) Not a current member of the Hub8 by Plexal startup community.

Plexal’s innovation team work with some of the biggest government departments, enterprises and most exciting startups in the UK, helping them to achieve their innovation and growth goals.

Cllr Rowena Hay, Leader of Cheltenham Borough Council, said: “The MX will establish the area as the heart of the town once again. It will bring together the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum and, with its large performance space, encourage a real café culture. In the surrounding area, we have invested in improved lighting, seating and footpaths to achieve better connectivity between the high street and promenade as part of our town centre investment.

“The MX and space around it can be enjoyed by businesses, residents and community groups and I am delighted that we are nearly at the point of completion of this innovative scheme, which links into Golden Valley and will benefit us now and into the future.’’

Bruce Gregory, Managing Director at Hub8 by Plexal, added: “Plexal’s ultimate ambition is to create economic and social prosperity for communities through innovation. It’s a mission we at Hub8 bought into wholeheartedly, which is what led us to accept Plexal’s majority shareholding offer last year.

“Now in 2024, we’re fast approaching the tangible realisation of this vision, with the MX Innovation Centre forming part of a broader goal to secure our future as Cheltenham looks forward to growing the technology ecosystem alongside the Golden Valley development.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.