It is no secret that Bristol is among the best places in the country to run a company.
The city has the highest survival rate for businesses of anywhere in Britain and the Queen's Speech briefing paper pointed out the city is the only non-capital in the 海角视频 reaching its potential.
Bristol is home to a thriving technology scene and a host of big-name companies including Airbus, animation studio Aardman, Rolls-Royce, Ovo Energy and fitness app Strava.
It is also attracting creative companies such as Channel 4, which recently opened a hub in the city.
But there are also plenty of less well-known businesses contributing to the local economy and driving growth in the city. We take a look at some of the Bristol businesses with exciting plans for 2020.
Moonraker VFX
Moonraker (formerly Coffee and TV Bristol) was founded in 2013 and specialises in high-end, big-budget television and film.
In 2020, the award-winning Clifton-based company will be the only special effects company working on two landmark BBC series - Perfect Planet, produced by Silver Back Films, and Green Planet by BBC Studios.
In the spring, Moonraker will finish its work for the newly refurbished Bodmin Jail attraction. The firm worked as a partner on a project to create immersive content and physical effects for the attraction, including scenes on Bodmin Moor and shipwrecks on Cornwall’s coastline.
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Moonraker is also expanding in Bristol next year and will be fitting out a new floor as it grows the company to between 30 and 40 staff.
Creative director Simon Clarke said: “We are excited to be growing our visitor attraction side of the business and achieving further worldwide recognition for our on-going projects.
“I think Bristol needs to shout about itself a bit more; we have so much talent here. As an alternative to working in London, if you are in the visual effects industry, it’s a great place to work.”
TalktotheRainbow
A team of LGBTQ+ and allied counsellors and therapists is opening a centre in Bristol in February covering everything related to sexuality, sexual orientation, gender and sex.
Hugo Minchin, director and co-founder at TalktotheRainbow, said: “The LGBTQ+ community in the South West is facing a massive mental health crisis. It’s a harsh reality, but quite frankly, people are dying.
"We aim to step in at a time to offer support and care when no one else really is. That is our biggest project currently.”
The company is also planning to recruit in 2020 and wants to attract as many LGBTQ+ therapists as possible. It is also in discussions with dance therapists to provide group therapy for Trans adults.
'Bristol in many ways is a trailblazer for inclusivity'
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Hugo says the company is hoping for support from Bristol City Council, Bristol NHS trust, Bristol University, UWE and other large employers.
“We want to work together to develop support and counselling to staff and students as well as provide outreach, workshops and training to management and HR," he explained.
"Bristol, in many ways, is a trailblazer for inclusivity, diversity and acceptance. Yet we still see a massive need for more investment from the government to make it a level playing field.
"There needs to be more investment in minority groups, as well as a concentrated effort to aid with diversity and inclusion.”
Crest Nicholson South West
The Bristol-based house builder is launching a number of developments in the South West in 2020, including Brooklands Park at Harry Stoke and Langley Point in Chippenham in January.
Brooklands Park is part of a £229million development at Harry Stoke being delivered in partnership with Sovereign Housing Association. A total of 114 properties are being released as part of the first phase.
Langley Point, near Chippenham train station, is another development Crest Nicholson is working on and includes 44 one and two-bedroom apartments.
“Our goal is always to create high-quality housing both for the people of the South West and for those from further afield looking to move into the area,” said Sandra Dixon, sales and marketing director.
“Bristol has historically been held back by poor transport links to the rest of the country, being tucked away in the South West corner.
“This has improved dramatically over the years [and] the new super-fast train from Bristol to London Paddington has just launched so we’re expecting more and more businesses to see Bristol as a viable place to be.”
Sandra believes 2020 will be a pivotal year for the economy and says demand for housing is likely to rise.
Mobius Works
Mobius Works is a company that fits out and refurbishes commercial, residential and industrial buildings - and it's gearing up for a big 2020 with international expansion as well as a major project in Bristol.
The company's clients include Hawthorn Leisure, Punch Taverns, Star Pubs and Mitchells & Butlers, and it recorded a turnover of £4.8million for the last financial year - more than doubling its 2018 total - and is projecting a £7million turnover for the financial year ending March 2020.
Since launching in 2017, staff numbers have grown 900 per cent from three founders to 49 permanent employees.
In early January Mobius is bringing one of Poland’s biggest seafood QSR chains, North Fish, to the Bull Ring in Birmingham.
It is also planning an office fit-out for a premier retailer in Hammersmith in London and numerous independent fit-outs for commercial and retail businesses including Let us Grow, Small Goods coffee shop and Artworks Office.
Founder and managing director Lee Bignell said: “Bristol will carry on being a good alternative to London, where businesses can invest and base themselves. Hopefully a steady political outlook will help get these projects off the ground.”
Cirque Bijou
The Bristol-based company produces shows internationally for commercial clients, public and private events.
In January 2020, Cirque Bijou will travel to Taiwan as the first British company invited to produce the centrepiece show of the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which is attended by 10,000 people a day.
The company will also be re-touring its Extraordinary Bodies production What Am I Worth? next year featuring deaf, disabled and non-disabled artists working together.
“We’re excited to be moving into our third decade as a circus production company,” said Billy Alwen, co-artistic director of Cirque Bijou.
“We’ve been based in Bristol since day one and the past 20 years have seen us travel all over the world with our shows, so it feels incredibly special to come home to Bristol each time and reflect on how far we’ve come as a company.”
Next year will also mark the company’s 17th year of involvement with the Bristol Harbour Festival and it will also be developing its Kitchen Circus project in partnership with Knowle West Media Centre and Travelling Light Theatre.
Billy added: “In these uncertain times, it’s difficult to know quite what’s around the corner. For us as a company, things like Brexit have led us to look for opportunities beyond Europe and taken us towards new and exciting projects in places such as Taiwan and Kazakhstan."
SirGordonBennett.com
SirGordonBennett.com is an online store that sells British goods and gifts. The Clifton-based company has been trading for a year and recently began a partnership with Bristol-based British Corner Shop (BCS).
The company has moved its warehousing and fulfilment from Essex to Yate and will start working with the BCS in earnest in January.
"We have only been trading for a year and this partnership with the British Corner Shop will expedite our business with their retail expertise and global reach of British Expats," said co-founder Neil Elliott.
"[This means] that SirGordonBennett.com will start to become the business we hoped it would become - promoting and selling quality British craftsmanship goods and gifts across the world."
Neil believes Bristol is a brilliant place for a start-up business such as his.
He said: "It has a real sense of a start-up community which is one of the reasons I started SirGordonBennett in Bristol.
"I think the faster rail link to London will be a huge boost. And as long as the city keeps promoting Bristol as a centre for start-ups, I think the future is bright."
Looking to 2020, Neil added: "I think that whether people voted to leave or remain the EU it has become evident that people need to buy more British products."
School Circle
School Circle describes itself as the AirBnB for schools. It helps schools in the South West and South Wales make it easy to rent out their facilities to the local community outside of teaching hours.
Husband and wife Tim and Rachel Sanderson set up School Circle at the end of 2018 and wanted to offer a model that not only generates additional income for schools, but also connects communities.
The company will start working with four new schools in January and has plans to work with two more by the end of March.
Tim said: "We are excited to help our partnership schools generate much-needed extra income to put back into the educational system."
The team is currently based in co-working offices and the business will be looking to expand next year as well as growing the number of schools it works with into double figures.
Changing Social
Changing Social was founded by Steve Crompton in 2018 to help companies adopt Microsoft technologies in their businesses.
The company has already grown to six people and has clients in retail, engineering, and financial services in the 海角视频, US and Singapore.
Changing Social is predicting revenues of more than £1.5million in 2020 and is planning to open an office in Newcastle in the first quarter of the year.
Steve says he also plans to open an office in the US in Q3 and Singapore in Q4 of 2020, while doubling the size of the Bristol team.
"The growth of the business excites me," he said. "Changing Social has had a fantastic start in our first year."
Changing Social is also working with a number of organisations to ensure that having a disability, such as visual impairment or dyslexia, is no longer a disadvantage to using Microsoft systems.
The company is currently based near The Galleries in Bristol but plans to move offices in the second quarter of 2020. Steve is also hoping to take on a second apprentice in January.
"We would like to stay central to attract and retain talent, but also stay close to the Bristol’s thriving tech community," he added.
Plume
Plume is a digital agency in Bristol that offers online training and the company celebrated its fifth birthday in 2019.
The business saw turnover grow 78 per cent in the last financial year and moved from a co-working space to its own office.
Next year, Plume is redeveloping an e-learning platform for Absolute Dogs - a company that offers dog training courses to people around the world.
It is also planning to grow the team in 2020 and increase revenue as more companies turn to online training.
“2019 was pretty amazing as we began to really specialise in our niche,” said managing director Kaine Shutler.
“We've really seen the demand for our services increase and we've been amazed at how receptive everyone has been.
He added: "It's a really exciting industry to be in, but to remain top of our game we need the right people. Bristol is definitely the place to be to meet a mix of techies and creatives."
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