Long Melford start-up hub Breakout enjoys triple dose of success at small business awards

A Long Melford start-up is celebrating a triple dose of success after picking up three business awards in the space of a week.

Breakout – a business support centre and co-working space located in Little St Mary’s – scooped a pair of accolades at the 2024 East of England Start-Up Awards.

The hub was named rural start-up of the year and the business, consulting and management start-up of the year for the eastern region.

There was further recognition during the Suffolk Small Business Awards, at Trinity Park in Ipswich, when Breakout took home the gong for business hero of the year.

Now in its third year, the centre helps other small businesses to develop by providing a shared space for working, as well as training and support with administration, social media, bookkeeping, IT and other key areas.

Farley Boxall, who founded Breakout with Phil Tetley in 2021, said the kind of co-working space they offered was normally only found in towns and cities so they wanted to break the mould by opening in Long Melford.

“We are so proud to just be recognised from such a small area, so to win not one but three awards is absolutely amazing,” she said.

“We are a small team of three who work so hard to help other local businesses. These awards mean the world to us. We will be celebrating for a while.

“It was a fantastic evening and to win business hero just topped the whole night off.”

With its success at the East of England Start-Up Awards, Breakout will now advance to the national final, with the winners to be announced later this year.

Harriet Rees, chief information officer at Starling Bank – one of the supporters of the UK Start-Up Awards – said: “Turning an idea into a successful business takes a lot of courage and dedication.

“Congratulations to Breakout on winning its category in the East of England and making it to this year’s UK national final. Start-ups need certainty to plan ahead.

“It’s great to see so many thrive, especially in these challenging economic times.”

To find out more about Breakout, go online to breakoutservices.co.uk or search ‘Breakout Long Melford’ on Facebook.