Inside the Zellig building at the Custard Factory in Digbeth & what it’s really like to work there

With the BBC, MasterChef and Steven Knight’s Loc Film Studios moving imminently to Digbeth - and with unique venues such as The Floodgate, Golf Fang, The Mockingbird Cinema, Mama Rouxs and The Mill already in situ - it’s an exciting time for the Digbeth Community.

A well known landmark in the area is the Custard Factory, formerly home to Bird’s Custard Factory, the site is home to the Zellig building, a restored grade II listed building with a difference!

Instead of your usual corporate spaces, Zellig offers cool and quirky customisable spaces to independent creative businesses such as interior designers, bakers, artists, web developers, PR companies and much much more.

Zellig Manager Michelle Irving says “What I love about Zellig is that small independent creative businesses can have a space here and still have all of the perks they would get if they worked in a big corporate office, we have found that services like our post collections, networking events and access to free meeting spaces are invaluable to our tenants. 

But what people love most is that there is a real sense of community here, our tenants love to support each other, collaborate and ultimately help each other’s businesses grow. ”

It really is the level of service that separated Zellig from its corporate competitors.  Alex Williams of Simmer Down Festival says: “They really look after their tenants here, they care about us and don’t just treat us like a commodity. I really rate that. Now we are a Non Profit Organisation we will be staying here. The best thing is if we need to scale up we can do it here too.”

The ability to scale up on space within Zellig is something that has also been key for the growth of design agency Faber too, founder Tony Matters says “I’m not sure we could have done it anywhere else. Zellig has always supported us through good and bad times.

“They helped us when we needed more space and enabled us to grow within the Zellig building 3 or 4 times. They also reduced rent significantly over lockdown, which a lot of other places didn’t do. If I have a problem I know I can always go to Michelle or Bennie, they really care about their tenants and that is a rare thing.”

Whether you are a self employed creative, a small business owner looking for a space, or an independent restaurant or cafe owner looking for a retail unit with high footfall, get in touch with the Zellig team today to discuss what they can do for you and arrange a viewing. [email protected] or call on 0121 667 1000