Expansion is a key ‘feature’ for production company

Full-service video production company Feature Media is enjoying sustained business growth, after expanding both its office premises and its team, with the appointment of an administrative and marketing assistant.

The firm based at Photon House in Wortley, Leeds, has recruited Julia Barr, a graduate from the University of Leeds, to support director, Julie Tumilty, with the firm’s marketing and communications. Not only that, but the company has also taken on extra office space to cater for the success of its growing business. Feature Media offers digital film production for businesses, creating products for them such as training films, podcasts and customer testimonials.

“We’re currently entering our busiest time of year and having already experienced an increase in workload, we knew we needed to expand our team,” says Julie.

New recruit Julia adds: “I’m really excited to be a part of the Feature Media team. I’m a massive film fan and love the creativity involved in the production process…it was the perfect fit for me.”

Spare room was start-up headquarters

Now boasting a team of five, when the company launched back in 2005, the start-up was operating from a spare bedroom.

“Myself and my business partner worked from home for five years, but when we recruited a third member to our team it was clear that we needed a larger and more professional workspace,” explains Julie.

“We looked at lots of offices, but Bizspace was by far the best fit for our needs in terms of both location and affordability. Photon House business centre is a perfect site for us as it’s within walking distance from home. City centre car parking can be very expensive, so it’s great that the office has free car parking facilities and is just five minutes away from town with good motorway links.”

Easy and affordable

Another key factor in Julie’s decision-making to find the most suitable office space was value for money.

Julie says: “It was a big risk for us to go from paying no rent whatsoever to affording monthly payments. Other offices charged per square footage, but Bizspace just charged per office unit which was more appropriate for us as a business that wanted to grow.

Bizspace made our move into a professional workspace really easy as they charged just one monthly payment that included all the bills so there were no hidden costs.

“We were able to expand with ease from a team of three people to five, meaning we didn’t have to re-locate. We love the space as it has a huge window which lets in a lot of natural daylight which helps with hours of editing work!”

Premises expanded further

To accommodate for the growth of the team, Feature Media has recently taken further office space next door.

Julie comments: “We needed more space for all of the equipment we have. It’s fantastic to be able to store it all safely and it’s easy for the team to access everything they need.”

The Feature Media team have the structure in place to support the company’s further growth which looks bright for the future.

 “It’s our 10^th birthday next year and we plan to host events throughout 2015 to celebrate this achievement, including holding an Oscar-themed party and sponsoring the Golden Owl awards at the Leeds Young People’s Film Festival.

“We are looking towards more public sector tendering next year, working with universities and companies within the manufacturing and engineering sector,” says Julie.

New start-up business space

Photon House is a modern business centre that hosts offices, studios and a meeting room. We have recently created a number of small offices and workshops, perfect for start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs. For more information contact centre manager Hayley Waudby on 01132 775 200.