VIDEO: Tour of Fasthosts new office at The Forum
By Mark Owen and Sarah Wood | 15th January 2025
Gloucester webhosting business, Fasthosts, is the first tenant of the city's £107 million The Forum, and today (January 15) invited guests for a tour.
Fasthosts, along with its sister company IONOS, employs around 230 people and had outgrown its old office on Southgate Street. Taking on five floors of Cathedral View 2 - one half of The Forum - has given the company all the space it needs.
The company has invested £5 million, including £1.7 million on fit-out and made a five year commitment to the building. Fasthosts chose to stay in Gloucester rather than move to Cheltenham or Bristol and is keen to be a part of the regeneration and keep supporting the city.
The company manages over 1.1 million domains, hosts more than 10,000 servers across UK-based data centres and is committed to providing scalable solutions, sustainability, and 24/7 customer support.
Rupert Bedell, MD of Fasthosts, said: "It is a beautiful, bright contemporary space. We've got all the facilities you'd expect for a modern tech company.

"Having all our employees under one roof for the first time in years has been a real game changer for us."
The building is designed so that people can get together as much as possible. The new office provides open-plan workspace, a variety of meeting rooms, a large kitchen, a multi-faith room and areas for socialising and relaxing, including a roof terrace.

The company is committed to sustainability and encourages walking and cycling to work. To make it easier, it provides showers and fresh towels for staff, as well as secure parking for bikes and e-scooters. It also provides free food for staff.

Rupert continued: "We provide free breakfasts, free fruit, free tea and coffee. Coffee is a big part of our culture here and we have the full barista experience.
"We've got table football and intend to add more games in future. We're actually going to link those to company goals, so when we hit a new Trustpilot score or we beat our sales target, that will unlock a pool table or a Playstation."


The company is very proud of its Trustpilot score of 4.7 out of 5 - the highest in the industry. This is a reflection of its 24/7 customer service, which is, refreshingly, provided by real human beings!
Rupert said: "If you've got problems with your package, your server or your web hosting - call in! What I've heard when I've listened to calls is the level of patience and care we have. It's never a rushed customer call; we stay on the phone until the problem's resolved and that results in really positive feedback."


Looking to the future, the company plans to continue doing good in the community:
• Using event spaces to connect with external communities
• Collaborating with nearby universities for knowledge sharing and partnerships
• Working with young people in Gloucester to promote tech education and opportunities
• Inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in technology
• Showcasing Gloucester as a vibrant and thriving city, challenging perceptions and stereotypes
• Positioning Gloucester as a desirable alternative to Bristol, highlighting its unique advantages and attractions

Rupert said: "When you look around Gloucester, it's no secret that it has social and economic problems. We can't solve those in a stroke, but Fasthosts making a commitment to the city centre in this way, we can see now was important to make sure there's forward momentum on The Forum."

The move to The Forum has undoubtedly been an overwhelmingly positive experience for Fasthosts, but there is just one small fly in the ointment.
Rupert said: "If Gloucester wants to continue to attract private enterprise into the city centre, we need to make sure that the surrounding facilities offer the right level of security for our staff - things like car parking in the surrounding areas. It's not where we'd like it to be, and we look forward to working with the council and other authorities to make sure that those facilities are at the right level and therefore attractive to other private enterprises."

Mark Owen, editor of Punchline-Gloucester.com, said: "This is fantastic for the city, and we're really pleased for Gloucester City Council that they at long last have a tenant. We all need this building, which is a massive investment of taxpayers' money, to work, so the council can recoup that investment. It's supposed to be the Digital Forum, so to have a tech company like Fasthosts is great for the city. We hope the council can fill the other block as soon as possible.
"The caveat is that Gloucester City Council, if they want to entice other companies to the area, has to sort out the security, the car parking and The Station Hotel opposite, which looks dreadful. These things need to be addressed urgently, so if someone steps off the train to invest in the city, they're not put off.
"Apart from all that, the building and the views are quite spectacular. I'd like to work there myself - or just sit around and enjoy the views!
"With The Forum, the link to King's Square and the new University of Gloucestershire City Campus in the old Debenhams all nearing completion, after 15 years of regeneration, this piece of Gloucester's jigsaw puzzle is almost complete. Together, they will enable us all to feel pride in our city and offer something unique which adds to the whole county's attraction."




Related Articles
Copyright 2025 Moose Partnership Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content is strictly forbidden without prior permission.