New Business Link HQ announced

THE new regional Business Link is to be headquartered in Barnsley.

The organisation, which is being reorganised as a region-wide service from April 1, will be based at Capitol Park Barnsley, the new business park close to the M1.

The Business Link Regional Co-ordination Centre will have 115 of the organisation's 300 staff in Yorkshire and Humber based there including the management team and back office staff.

It will bring together the staff at the current Business Link 'information gateways' in Leeds, York, Hull and Doncaster.

The move follows the successful bid by Exemplas Holdings and Reed in Partnership, the joint parents of Y&H IDB, which won the £29m contract from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward to create and deliver a new Business Link service in Yorkshire and Humber starting in April.

The move to a central co-ordination centre is part of the new organisation's overall strategy to deliver more resource directly to enterprise, support growth and to improve efficiency that was heralded as a “new era for business support” by Yorkshire Forward chairman, Terry Hodgkinson.

“This site was the ideal central point for our regional centre due to its communications and geographic positioning, and the facilities themselves are ideal for our purpose,” said Phil Mercer, interim chief executive of Y&H IDB.

“The aim is to keep the majority of the workforce mobile, delivering support for start-ups and established businesses, and this is the best solution to ensure the resources reach the place they will make the most impact – with businesses,” he added.

The new 15,000 sq ft Barnsley site will be the hub supporting 11 other 'key location centres' where around 200 business support staff will deliver the Business Link services.

The centres will be in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, North East Lincolnshire, Hull; Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, York, Scarborough and one on the A1 corridor between Catterick and Thirsk.

“With the new structure and locations in 11 towns and cities, we are better placed to deliver high-quality, face-to-face support to clients based in every part of the region,” commented Mr Mercer.

“There was a great deal of consideration as to the positioning of the new centre and the other locations. It's crucial that we have the right coverage and structure to deliver a truly consistent service to business and individuals, wherever they may be within this region.”

Simon Hill, director of business for Yorkshire Forward said: “Throughout the business support review, we identified the need to create a service which remained focused on local delivery, accessible across all parts of Yorkshire and Humber.”