The SETsquared Partnership, the global number one business incubator network backed by the University of Bath, has appointed international public relations agency Grayling’s Bristol office to raise its national profile.
Since its launch in 2002, SETsquared has supported more than 3,500 businesses and helped raise £1.8bn in investment. It has twice been named as the best business incubator in the world – in 2015 and last year – for its outstanding contribution to developing the next generation of UK tech entrepreneurs. 
It is also supported by the universities of Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey as well as Bath.
In the past two years alone Bath’s SETsquared hub has supported 965 businesses, including a number based at its base in the University of Bath’s Innovation Centre on Broad Quay. Businesses assisted by the partnership employed or supported nearly 11,000 people in 2017.
Now SETsquared has brought in Grayling Bristol to develop a series of quarterly campaigns to help raise its national profile. It will also deliver an ongoing programme of support that will help it meet its key objectives of recruiting high-quality participants into its ‘escalator’ programmes, building on its award-winning reputation for knowledge exchange, and continuing to be considered an influential source of information and authority on enterprise.
SETsquared programme director Karen Brooks said: “We were impressed by Grayling’s in-depth understanding of SETsquared and the challenges and opportunities faced by the tech sector more broadly. The structured programme of support proposed by the team was very well aligned with our vision and we could easily see how it would help us deliver on our objectives for 2019.”
Grayling Bristol director Richard Chapman said: “We’re delighted to be working with SETsquared to deliver an exciting programme of national and sector PR support which will continue to build the partnership’s reputation and attract ambitious fast-growing tech businesses through its doors.
“Grayling has a wealth of experience in corporate communications and a strong track record in the tech sector, so we look forward to working with SETsquared and the many businesses it supports over the coming year.”
Two months ago Grayling Bristol began working with the Bristol-based Centre for Modelling & Simulation (CFMS), a not-for-profit specialist in digital engineering capability.
Other new clients include property consultancy Ridge & Partners, University of Gloucestershire, The Ivy Collection, Cosy Club, Norland College and the whisky brand Label 5. Grayling Bristol takes over from Southampton agency Carswell Gould on the SETsquared Partnership account.
