Business: Move to Fareham Innovation Centre

An expanding security risk management consultancy has chosen Fareham Innovation Centre in Hampshire as its new UK base.

SIACO, founded by owner director Lewis Loveless just over two years ago, is moving into Fareham Innovation Centre near Portsmouth. The independent firm consults clients across the UK Mainland in public and private sectors.

Lewis said: “Since starting out in early 2023, we have conducted our business across the UK remotely, utilising associate networks, public meeting spaces whilst on the road and a virtual office in London.”

“After a period of strong consultancy growth and new strategic partnerships forming, we are ready to establish a physical base and have selected Hampshire’s Fareham Innovation Centre for this next exciting chapter of our journey.”

“Our new base will enable us to develop our nationwide capability and collaborate with associates and clients, as well as be around other businesses and like-minded people.”

He added: “Fareham Innovation Centre provides an outstanding opportunity for us to grow and develop relationships and operations in a significant and strategic location, alongside companies operating in the same sectors as SIACO.”

Stephen Brownlie is Centre Director at Fareham Innovation Centre, which has nearly 60 innovation-led companies on site.

He said: “Lewis and his team are well placed here for strategic growth, including working collaboratively with occupiers here from our range of gateway sectors - aviation, aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and marine.”

"SIACO’s mission is to optimise security operations for clients to ensure, alongside partners, that their security operations are sufficient, efficient and proportional to risk.”

“In a world of volatility, having latest protocols and processes in place, and ones that are tried and tested in real time to expose fault lines and weaknesses, means there is less likely to be any single or multiple points of operational and management failure in a crisis.”

Fareham Innovation Centre, which turned 10 this summer, is operated by Oxford Innovation Space, which has the largest network of innovation centres across the UK and Ireland, on behalf of the building’s owner, Fareham Borough Council.

The purpose-built centre has 55 offices, 20 workshops, a conference and events suite for up to 120 people and four meeting rooms for between six to 16 people, along with complimentary business support for occupiers.

Occupancy is at a record 96%, with upwards of 350 people on site at any one time and dozens of networking and knowledge events held annually.

More than 250 companies have benefitted from working life at the centre, with various ones drawing upon the business support service delivered in one-to-one strategy sessions from the in-house Innovation Director.