Mantle – bringing Mass’s FM expertise to the Smaller Enterprise

In spite of the harsh business climate an innovative Mass initiative called Mantle is thriving. The two-year old venture is designed to provide start-up and small but fast-growing local businesses with rented office space and related services. Mass believes the initiative may play a modest part in fuelling the vital growth needed in the nurturing and development of new enterprise, widely acknowledged as being essential to help revive the UK economy.

“Establishing Mantle was one of the main reasons Mass moved from its Bracknell headquarters in May 2009 to a new home nearby at Innovation House in Wokingham, Berkshire. The new facility offered the additional space we needed to launch the service,” says Alina Bolt, responsible for marketing and sales of the Mass venture.

Mantle represents an innovative and complementary diversification for Mass. It neatly extends the company’s 20-year expertise in facilities management, gained working for large organisations, into the small to medium-size enterprise (SME) sector.

Alina Bolt says the concept is simple: “We are trying to help smaller companies manage their infrastructure better by offering the kind of flexible, essential and expert resources that they might not otherwise be able to afford.”

A close partnership with our Mantle clients means they feel confident about the infrastructure behind them to support the growth of their enterprise. We take away the worry of finding and running the office infrastructure, so the clients can focus on the real priority of getting their core business done.” At a practical level, she says, this encompasses providing all kinds of different space requirements, from a range of serviced offices and hot-desking, to the provision of training and conference rooms, right down to photocopying machines, mailing services, and kitchen facilities.

Mantle helps streamline the way SMEs operate: the range of support services means clients have the time to complete important tasks in the working day without the frustrations, diversions and hassle of having to administer space and service requirements themselves. Mass has successfully adapted the systems the company itself uses to the smaller business client.”

On a case-by-case basis the services offered are all tailored specifically to the individual client. Mantle offers a flexibility and cost-efficiency that may not be found elsewhere. This is crucial to a new business that invariably lacks the resources of a more established or larger organisation. In the early life of a business it may also make sense financially not to have to buy and equip premises.

Clients range from new start-up businesses to medium-sized companies that have grown, downsized, restructured or simply wanted to change the way they work. The businesses Mantle attracts come from a range of diverse sectors including recruitment and accountancy, computer software and systems, and other areas. What they have in common is a recognition that today, business does not work the way it used to. Even the smallest enterprise may benefit from the economies of scale offered by the Mantle business infrastructure.

“Mantle itself has now been growing successfully for over two years and continues to attract mostly local businesses keen to take advantage of the long history of successful infrastructure management we share through Mass,” says Alina Bolt. “It has been a wonderful challenge for us to work alongside younger dynamic businesses, helping them to realise their potential. We are excited and proud to help them succeed in their enterprise, which in turn may help the greater economy back to full health. ”

Mass has plans for the expansion of Mantle into other towns and regions, so watch out for more news on developments.