Brackmills BID champions the diversity of its resident businesses on the estate
The BID announces the launch of a new section of its website to celebrate the businesses across Brackmills
We are delighted to announce the launch of a new section on our website to celebrate the businesses that make the estate what it is – from a European IT leader that has called Brackmills home for 25 years, to a family-owned vending company transforming its industry one sustainable machine at a time.
Our Business Spotlight series reflects the BID’s core objective of supporting businesses and people: not just through investment in infrastructure and safety, but by giving resident businesses a platform and a voice.
Sara Homer, Chief Executive of Brackmills BID, said: “Brackmills has always been a place where businesses of every shape and size come to grow. What unites them – whether they employ five people or 500 – is ambition, quality, and a genuine sense of community.
“This new website section is our way of telling their stories, and of showing the world just how much talent and innovation exists right here on this estate. It is also a practical tool: the more visible our businesses are, the more connections they can make, the more talent they can attract, and the stronger our community becomes.”
The breadth of businesses featured reflects what makes the estate distinctive.
Bechtle, the largest IT services provider in Europe, has been based on Brackmills since 2000. From one of five UK sites, the business supports clients ranging from local organisations to global multinationals, advising on cyber security, artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
Jon Thorpe, Relationship Director at Bechtle, said: “Brackmills is a hub of innovation and opportunity and as an international business it perfectly supports our commitment to the principle of ‘act local, work global’. With 15,000 employees across 14 countries, we have the scale to address global challenges, yet we remain firmly rooted in our local communities.”
Carbon Neutral Vending is a family business run by James Bond and his wife Katherine, providing vending solutions for over 20 years from their own building on the estate. Now in its fourth year of operating as a carbon-neutral business, the company has achieved a 42% reduction in its carbon footprint, runs a fully electric delivery fleet, and has helped neighbouring businesses including Decathlon, ILG and DSV divert more than 150,000 single-use cups from landfill every year.
Dutch e-fulfilment innovator Active Ants arrived on Brackmills in 2022 with an empty building, no customers and a determination to bring a new logistics model to the UK. Three years on, the business has grown from 12 to around 125 employees, serving nearly 70 brands using a highly automated system that brings products to the picker rather than the other way round.
Workwear Northampton, led by former Northampton Saints rugby player and ex-military professional Mattie Stewart, has been based on Brackmills for over seven years. Specialising in branded workwear, sportswear and PPE with all production handled in-house, the business supplies major clients nationally while remaining a committed member of the local business community.
Mattie said: “The BID does a fantastic job, and makes a real difference by tackling local challenges and supporting businesses like ours.”
The most recent spotlight features Padel Social House, the largest padel facility in the Midlands. With 11 doubles courts, a competition court, a café and a large events space, it represents a new kind of offer for the estate – a third space where employees can relax, exercise and connect outside the workplace.
CEO Edward Dowdall said: “Community and a sense of belonging are at the heart of what we do. We want to offer something for everyone on the estate and beyond — to relax, exercise, socialise and create meaningful friendships on and off court.”
The Business Spotlight series sits alongside a wider programme through which Brackmills BID supports its members: from regular networking events, health, safety and wellbeing forums, and net zero workshops, to investment in estate infrastructure, safety patrols, and charity partnerships chosen by businesses themselves.
The BID’s vision is for Brackmills to be recognised as the premier business and logistics park in the country – and celebrating the businesses that make it that is central to achieving it.
