STOCKPORT ENGINE HOUSE CELEBRATES ITS 50th MEMBER

Stockport Business and Innovation Centre (SBIC) is celebrating the success of its Engine House free business lounge with the arrival of its 50^th member.

Jeremy Totton of Path Architects has become the latest business owner to join SBIC’s informal space at Broadstone Mill, which is available to all SBIC customers and on a membership basis to external companies.

Path Architects was founded earlier this year and is a collaboration between three practices: High Peak Architects Ltd, Poulter Architects and Jeremy Totton Architect and Urban Designer. It specialises in housing, urban regeneration, masterplanning, community and commercial projects.

Path Architects plan to take advantage of the Engine Room’s location on the Stockport-Manchester border with a view to growing their client base in the area, the wider North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Jeremy Totton said:

“The Engine House has a vibrant, professional, creative industries buzz about it and I was drawn immediately to this terrific old red brick industrial building regenerated to such a creative, positive and successful effect. As urban and building regeneration is integral to Path Architects, it has exactly the right kind of image for us.

“Our business has a strong focus on development and regeneration – two things that are flourishing in Stockport and nearby Manchester– and we see using the Engine House as a space for flexible working, meeting clients on an informal basis, and using the centre’s other meeting spaces for more formal meetings and introductions as key to establishing ourselves in the area.”

The Stockport Council owned SBIC, is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.  It provides flexible office space specifically aimed at start-up businesses looking to make their first move into professional offices.  It also offers mentoring and business incubation services to help start-ups develop a robust business plan and support them as they grow.

John Booth, centre manager at SBIC, said:

“We are thrilled to be welcoming our 50^th member just nine months after opening the Engine House and ambitious start-ups like Path Architects are the kind of businesses we want to attract more of.

“SBIC encourages and supports enterprise and innovation and we want customers already based at Broadstone Mill and local businesses to use the Engine House to meet clients and contacts and help their businesses grow here in Stockport.”

Paul Lawrence, corporate director at Stockport Council, said:

“SBIC is committed to giving new businesses professional support, flexibility and networking opportunities to get them off to the best start. The open access Engine House is part of that and we are pleased to welcome a business that shares our passion for innovation and development in the local area.”