London-based Plexal, a “generalist” coworking space, has acquired a majority stake in Cheltenham-based Hub8, a cyber security-focused coworking space (note: Cheltenham is the natural home of the UK’s cyber ecosystem, thanks to GCHQ’s more than 70-year heritage in the town). Hub8 was founded in 2019 by Bruce Gregory (CEO) & Plexal was founded in 2018 by Andrew Roughan (CEO) – with backing from DV4 (a real estate value added fund managed by Delancey). Plexal already owns similar co-working space in London & Manchester, & this latest acquisition is part of its ongoing mission to build the UK’s most connected cyber ecosystem. Plexal & Hub8 already collaborated in the past, having won in 2021 the National Cyber Security Centre Innovation Partner programme, dedicated to working with startups to help them develop & pilot their solutions, adapting their technology to new cyber challenges. NCSC for Startups (successor of NCSC’s Cyber Accelerator) alumni (60+ startups) have collectively raised over £430m & created hundreds of jobs nationwide. This acquisition builds on the partnership developed to date between Plexal & Hub8, & comes as development continues of a (cyber) innovation space at Cheltenham’s Minster Exchange. <Source: punchline>
