Glossop Business Centre two years on….

It’s coming up to two years since Glossop Business Centre opened its doors, in what was once a dental surgery. In fact, a lot of the building sat derelict and hadn’t been in use for many years.

JSL Properties purchased the building and extensive renovations began in earnest with the help of a grant from Derbyshire Economic Partnership to bring a partly disused building back into use. The centre was officially opened by Robin Baldry, the Chairman of Derbyshire County Council on 8th September 2009. We caught up with the owners Helen and Martin Duncan to find out how things have been going…

“The biggest impact for us has been the opportunity to grow our marketing business First Impression. We originally rented an office in the building and it really gave us the opportunity to create the type of working space we wanted. When we rented there was just two of us but now there are 8 of us. It’s a very professional environment in which to meet our clients and we have the added benefit of a board room/training room, which we also hire out and we hold local business networks here each month.” “The original plan for the business centre was to offer easy in and out terms so that smaller businesses didn’t feel pressurised to take on long leases. We’ve had a few using the office space in this way, but in reality most of our tenants have been long term. We only have a vacancy in Office 6 right now because RAD Mechanical has just moved into his own premises. Office 6 is one of the bigger suites as it has two rooms on the first floor and includes its own bathroom and kitchen facilities. We’ve already had a few enquiries so if anyone is interested give us a call on 01457 857111 to come and see it for yourselves.” – Helen Duncan, First Impression

Newland Hayes & Co

Newland Hayes & Co moved into Office 3 at Glossop Business Centre nearly six months ago. Far from a new business, as it was established in 1988, Newland Hayes wanted a base in the High Peak to extend its accountancy practice in the Glossop and Buxton area. Run by Peter Hayes, many businesses in the area may remember Peter from his connections as a Business Link Adviser. Peter said, “Glossop Business Centre is a good central position for my business in the High Peak. It’s secure and it’s good if I need to meet existing and prospective accountancy clients. It’s also easy to find as most people drive past it every day through Glossop.”

Aquanauts

Aquanauts moved into the Glossop Business Centre in October 2009. They provide baby and infant swimming for little ones from birth to around 4 years of age. Run by Sara and Greville Kelly, who set up Aquanauts to provide a style of teaching that was not being delivered in greater Manchester with a friendly face. Swimming lessons are taught in private pools across the Greater Manchester area including Prestwich, Dukinfield, Oldham, Stockport and Gorton. The couple had run the business operations from home until moving into the business centre. Sara explains, “It was a big decision for us at the time to suddenly have overheads, but we were struggling with space at home and I needed to divide work and home a bit more. We live locally and when the business centre opened it just felt right. I needn’t have worried though, the business is doing really well. We work very different hours to other people so the 24 hour access and security was really important to us.”

Personal Finance Solutions

Independent financial advisers Barry Williams and Denise Mead moved into the Glossop Business Centre in August 2010 and believe the office space and its location has really made a difference to their business. Barry said, “We get a lot of different visitors to our office, from solicitors to regional bank managers and they are always impressed with the standard of the building, from its cleanliness to its security. I like the fact we’ve got a separate room for private meetings, for example, with debt management clients. Glossop Business Centre is Glossop’s best kept secret. It’s got a training room and the location is great for us, we’re busy without needing a shop front. We attend the business network that’s held here and have secured business connections that way too. All in all, it’s good for our business.”