The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 14: Winter 2019 | Page 5

BUSINESS NEWS
Tourism on the up as two major
hotel projects invest in Bath
With record numbers of people visiting Bath and North East
Somerset in 2018, two major Bath city centre hotel projects are
set to add over 330 rooms to the city’s offering.
Earlier this year, the owners of The Mineral Water
Hospital (The Min) displayed plans to convert the grade
II listed building into a 169-bed lifestyle hotel complete
with a restaurant and spa.
The building’s owner, Singapore-based investor the
Fragrance Group, hopes to submit a planning application
by the end of 2019.
Across the city centre on South Parade, the group
behind the £10m Hotel Indigo project is hoping to open
the 166-bedroom building next spring.
Hotel Indigo, housed within a grade I listed 18th
century terrace, is replacing the former Pratt’s and
Halycon hotels and will include a gym, bars, restaurants
and luxurious rooms.
Work on the project paused earlier in 2019 after
building contractor, Phelan Construction Limited,
suspended work, delaying the project by nearly four
months. New contractors ISG PLC were subsequently
chosen to complete the project.
The latest Visitor Impact Report, an independent
survey carried out by The South West Research
Company, shows that an estimated 6.25 million people
visited the district in 2018.
The survey also reveals that the value of the visitor
economy in Bath and North East Somerset is almost
half a billion pounds, contributing £470m to the local
economy - an increase of £40m since the last survey
was carried out in 2016.
Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council,
Dine Romero, said, “Tourism is a vital part of the local
economy and I’m pleased to hear that our beautiful city
and its surrounding towns, villages and countryside
remain an attractive destination for so many people. The
strength of our visitor economy shows the confidence
people have in our city and the wider area, which has to
be good news for business owners and employees.”
A computer generated image of the highly anticipated Hotel Indigo.
A vision of what it could look like inside The Mineral Water Hospital
once converted into a hotel. Image from Stride Treglown architects.
SETSQUARED RANKED
NUMBER ONE UNIVERSITY
BUSINESS INCUBATOR
The SETsquared Partnership, a unique enterprise
partnership between five leading, research-led UK
universities including the University of Bath, has been
ranked the global number one university business
incubator for the third consecutive time by leading
research and advisory firm, UBI Global.
The title, which was awarded at the recent World Incubation
Summit in Qatar on 7th November, continues SETsquared’s
ongoing success, having maintained its world-leading
position since 2015. This year, the partnership was
commended for demonstrating exceptional value for tech
start-ups and the local ecosystem.
SETsquared is an enterprise partnership between the
universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey
which supports technology-based businesses throughout
their lifecycle.
With bespoke entrepreneur training programmes and
unrivalled access to a network of mentors, alumni, investors,
corporate partners and the knowledge base of the five
research-intensive universities, SETsquared has supported
over 4,000 UK high-tech start-ups since its inception, helping
From left to right: Ali Amin, CEO & Co-Founder UBI Global; Ibrahim Mannai, Executive
Director of Advisory and Incubation Qatar Development Bank; Khalid M. Al-Ali, Co-Founder
and Executive Chairman SENSETA Qatar; Karen Brooks, Programme Director at SETsquared
Partnership; Monika Radclyffe, Centre Director at SETsquared Bristol.
them raise more than £1.8bn of investment and creating
£8.6bn of economic impact to date – a figure which is set to
rise to nearly £27bn by 2030.
In the last year alone, 325 students, academics and
entrepreneurs in Bath have participated in SETsquared
programmes, with supported companies raising £10.5m in
investment between them.
The Partnership’s ranking follows the world’s most
extensive benchmark study which analyses more than 1,500
incubators and accelerator programmes in 78 countries
worldwide. SETsquared scored highly against all 21 key
performance indicators (KPIs).
Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared, said that
he was thrilled with the ranking.
He explained, “This ranking is testament to the dedication
of everyone in the SETsquared team and their commitment
to the entrepreneurial talent and research and innovation
capabilities of the UK. We hope this ranking demonstrates to
entrepreneurs, start-ups, and scale-up businesses across
Bath that SETsquared has the experience and track record to
help them succeed and grow.”
Ali Amin, CEO and co-founder at UBI Global, added,
“Following a rigorous data-driven approach, we assessed and
benchmarked incubation programmes across the world.
“The top lists of programmes were each recognised for
outstanding performance in nurturing entrepreneurship
and innovation, but SETsquared really stood out amongst its
peers. We’d like to extend our congratulations to the whole
team for these exceptional results.”
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019
5