Guests from across the county attended the Forum today (November 6) to hear about Patch's plans.

The London-based workspace provider is currently having 17,000 sq ft of space at the £107 million Gloucester development fitted out.

Around 60 people, including the Dean of Gloucester and Alex McIntyre MP for Gloucester, attended the event.

Patch founder, Freddie Fforde, told guests the company is investing £500k to £600k in fitting out its sixth and largest workspace.

Patch at the Forum is set to partially open next month and will be fully open in December.

The company describe its offering as "work near home" and its mission being to "reimagine how we work and connect" by offering accessible and flexible workspaces in local communities.

At its other workspaces, Patch hosts everyone from large tech companies to self-employed freelancers.

Freddie assured anyone looking to work at Patch at the Forum that their dogs would be welcome in the workplace!

Talking to Punchline-Gloucester.com, Freddie said: "This is our opportunity to introduce ourselves in a bit more detail and show some plans. We just wanted to give back to all the wonderful people we've met who've invested in what we're trying to do here with our work and events spaces. Although we're not open for another month, there's so many people in the room here who have bought into what we're doing.

"We're excited about the way Gloucester has responded to what we want to be part of. We're just one part of the Forum, the Forum is one part of a lot of urban regeneration here and that's one part of the fabric of Gloucester. We're just one small part of the diversity of Gloucester, but we've been invited in so warmly."

In particular, Freddie is grateful for the support of the city council.

He continued: "Our experience of Gloucester City Council has been consistent, it's been ambitious, it's been productive, it's been helpful - whether that is introductions to local business leaders or support to help us secure the project in the first place."

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, leader of Gloucester City Council, said: "It's really important that Patch are here, so we've got two big tenants now, which will help us start to let other parts of the Forum. The next big job for us is to start filling the office space.

"It's a smashing building and it's really going to do good for the city of Gloucester because there's going to be a lot more people working here. If they're working here, they're going to walk into Kings Square. We've got new businesses coming in, like Loungers, which is hoping to open next spring. 

"It's moving forward. You've got to move forward step by step; steadily, surely and securely."

Punchline-Gloucester.com said: "It was a really good event this morning. Patch moving to the Forum is a game changer for the city and another step in the right direction.

"It was great to hear Freddie's comments on how helpful the city council were, which bodes well for other business looking to move to Gloucester. It's far too easy for the media to give the council a kicking and it's important that we celebrate when they do a good job. Congratulations to the city council and all the officers involved."