The StartUp Britain bus, touring the nation to inspire enterprise, has reached its halfway stage. Over the past fortnight, we have engaged aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs in Birmingham, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and many other cities. Our iconic 1966 Routemaster bus – provided by NatWest and sponsored by Sage, Start Up Loans and Upwork – has been inside the gates of Downing Street, taken part in the London Pride parade and been spotted on roads all over the South, Midlands and North.
The popularity of the tour has led to calls for the bus to visit many other towns that weren’t on our itinerary. While the logistics of getting to some areas is challenging, we are keen to visit as many towns as possible to inspire and support entrepreneurs.
Today we announce the extension of the tour to three new stops, taking StartUp Britainto a total of 28 locations this summer. Joining the schedule are Reading, Sheffield and Carlisle.
The Reading stop will bring the bus into the heart of Thames Valley with the help of Connect TVT, the start-up accelerator founded by entrepreneurs, Louize Clarke and Adam Clark. The Sheffield stop will be hosted by Marketing Sheffield and Sheffield City Council, to mark the count-down towards the MADE Festival in October, while the Carlisle stop will be hosted by Fusion Go – Cumbria’s enterprise campaign organisation.
Matt Smith, director of StartUp Britain said, “I’m delighted by the response we have had so far. Calls for the bus to stop in many other towns shows how much demand there is for the bus and the support provided on-board, so I’m pleased we can commit to visiting a further three locations”.
The StartUp Tour bus will visit Reading for a full day on Wednesday 29th July and will be parked in the heart of the city centre on Broad Street. The bus will then stop in Barker’s Pool, Sheffield for an evening reception on Friday 1st August and Carlisle’s town plaza for an evening reception on Saturday 2nd August.