Behind the door at No4

Matthew Kennedy CEO of Avenue HQ

Tell us about who you are and what your role is? 

Matt - I’m the CEO and Founder of The Avenue Group, so I look after everything strategic at the top-level. The Avenue Group is made up of three Avenue HQ sites, one here at St Paul’s Square, one on the waterfront at Mann Island and one in Leeds. Each Avenue HQ has a hospitality offering attached, our Socials; Mann Island Social, St Paul’s Social and East Parade Social.

I work alongside Luke (Roberts), who is the operations director. We have both been here since day dot, and founded the business together. We’ve both done every role under the sun to get us to the point we are at today, so that helps.

What is it you like best about your job?

I think I can speak on behalf of both of us and say the people. The variety of people that we get to interact with on a daily basis is what makes Avenue HQ so special. We have the greatest people running our spaces, and the most dynamic members occupying them.

From The Anfield Wrap to property developers, one-man bands and national digital businesses, it’s just great to see the spaces being used every day by a great bunch of people.

Tell us one thing about yourself that other people might not know? 

I once met Barack Obama in The White House. That’s my only claim to fame.

How important is social media to your business and how do you use it? 

Social media is hugely important for what we are trying to do. We now have three Avenue HQ and three Socials, so we have a lot of content and story-telling to do. In any Avenue HQ on any given day there can be so much going on, so the content that is captured there is perfect to show off the spaces, that are incredibly visual, and also depict the real benefits of collaborative workspaces.

Tell us what you are most excited about in your business over the next six months? 

We are really looking forward to filling up No.4 St Paul’s Square and seeing what the community brings, not only to the building but also the square itself. Watching the businesses grow within our spaces and positively impact the economy in our region is a real privilege.

We’ve also just opened a restaurant, which is pretty exciting! Mann Island Social is attached to our first site on the waterfront and is our biggest hospitality offering yet. It’s a big footprint that is going to be offering fantastic brunches, lunches, and everything else to the people of Liverpool and visitors.

We can’t wait for the city to enjoy the rest of the summer at Mann Island Social. And on top of that; growth, growth and more growth. So much of mine and Luke’s time is spent searching for other sites across the country, both for Avenue HQ and more hospitality venues.

How much of a difference does being in No 4 St Paul's make to you and your business? 

Being in this location is great for us. It’s really beneficial to be surrounded by so many businesses and their people, of all different types. St Paul’s Social is fast becoming a meeting point for people working in and around the square, and that is fantastic to see. We’ve moved our head office to No 4 too, which has had a massive impact on our team.