New £6m centre is Enterprise Hothouse

An enterprise centre in St Helens designed to create a hub of entrepreneurial activity will be officially launched today.

A key feature of the £6m development will be a 30-unit Enterprise Greenhouse which will offer affordable space for start-up businesses, including computers, telephone, receptionist and on-site business advice.

The three-storey centre is being funded by the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, through St Helens Council, St Helens Chamber and Objective 1 funding.

St Helens Chamber, which was last month named as Chamber of the Year, will move into purpose-built offices at the centre, which will also offer conference facilities and meeting rooms.

Steve Gange, chairman of St Helens Chamber, said: “We are continually striving to find more ways to help develop and support businesses in the borough.

“The Enterprise Centre is giving us the opportunity to create some fantastic facilities, which will help us to encourage new ventures to grow and will provide an excellent resource for our established businesses and for local schools, who are nurturing the business talent that the borough will need in the future.”

The centre, which is being built in the town centre next to the tourist attraction, The World of Glass, is scheduled to open in December 2008. The town’s council leader, Brian Spencer, says it will help to develop businesses of the future.

He said: “Not only will this centre showcase the new headquarters for St Helens Chamber, but it will house one of the most exciting and ambitious enterprise development projects in the region – the Enterprise Greenhouse.

“This provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to start their businesses in high quality premises with business support on site, and it will give young entrepreneurs a platform to develop their talents and create high-growth, modern businesses.”