Staffordshire enterprise centre marks two years as home to thriving small businesses

An enterprise centre in the centre of Staffordshire's county town is celebrating its two-year anniversary as a home to thriving small businesses.

Located in Stafford's iconic Shire Hall, the centre offers office units on flexible tenancies, hot desks, post boxes and meeting room hire along with a range of support facilities.

Shire Hall Business Centre opened in 2022 and is the latest in the county council's enterprise centre estate. It operates over three floors to the rear of the building which formerly housed the town's library. The centre opened after an extensive £2million refurbishment and fit out, blending the latest office facilities with heritage building features.

At a celebration event this week, Staffordshire County Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills Philip White joined the Shire Hall team, businesses located at the centre, Stafford Chamber of Commerce which is based there and potential new tenants.

Richard Wood is the CEO of award-winning business mentoring company Rocketeer Group and one of Shire Hall's newest tenants. Having relocated to the centre four months ago, Richard has already taken on a second office unit.

He said:

I'm from Stafford and to be located here in the centre of town in such a fantastic facility is great for our business. This building is a focal point for business talent and is what we needed for our team and to bring clients to.

It demonstrates what can be achieved where the right decisions are being made by the key decision makers at the top. There was obviously an ambitious vision for the Shire Hall and it's important in that it attracts businesses and skilled people to want to stay and be at the heart of Staffordshire."

Rocketeer won the Barclays entrepreneur of the year award in 2022 and has scooped awards with Google and the Financial Times for its business coaching programme in the UK. Richard is also one of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub advisors and helps to deliver its new Ignite & Thrive programme for new entrepreneurs.

Philip White said:

The Shire Hall Business Centre has been a huge success for us and for Stafford and so its two-year anniversary is a significant milestone.

It's been fantastic to meet the diverse range of small businesses operating here over the last two years and so we're also celebrating their progression and growth over that period.

Shire Hall offers top quality facilities to small businesses in a professional setting. Its hot desk and meeting room hire options reflect modern working for people owning their own businesses or who work from home on a regular basis.

Everyone who works here benefits from networking opportunities and enjoy town centre amenities. They can also use the centre as their business address, whether they're an office tenant or use the hot desks.

In addition to being a thriving business hub in the heart of Stafford, Shire Hall plays an important part in the wider regeneration of the town at a time when many other exciting developments are taking place."

Shire Hall's flexible tenancy office units mean businesses are not tied into long-term agreements, with on-site support teams and the opportunity to network with other businesses.

It's the first centre to offer a hot desking facility, with people able to book for as long as they like. The facility has recently been expanded over another floor. It could soon be rolled out to the other centres across the county with office units. Businesses which use the hot desks or office units can also register their address at Shire Hall, rather than using a home address. Meeting rooms are available to hire at Shire Hall, giving people a professional setting and in a convenient central location. And all businesses at Shire Hall benefit from networking opportunities and business advice and support from the on-site team.

Anyone wanting further information should contact Samantha Neal, centre administrator, at [email protected]

This Shire Hall Business Centre complements county council plans to repurpose and redevelop town centre land occupied by vacant buildings in the Eastgate area. Stafford Borough Council secured a £20million government investment in its station gateway project last year, helping to regenerate the wider area around the railway station. It is also has ambitious plans for the Guildhall and former Coop building and carried out the recent Market Square refurbishment.