A centre set up by Exeter City Council to give local companies a helping hand could be sold for £1.
The Exeter Business Centre at Marsh Barton is experiencing ‘declining interest’, and members of the council’s executive committee will meet next week (August 17) to discuss handing back its lease for less than the price of a cup of tea.
It was first set up in the 1990s for local firms to bridge the gap between working from home and making the commitment to leasing commercial premises.
It has ‘no frills’ units for arts, retail, office, workshops, storage, catering and more, on an ‘easy in, easy out’ low-cost basis. The first month for a company is rent free.
The city council says online: “Although the aim is to help start-up businesses we also cater for established businesses of any size.”
But a report to the executive meeting says it could be handed back to landlords EIC (Exeter), who will have to commit to operating it as it is for at least the next two years.
The report says the family owners of EIC have extensive commercial property holdings and business interests across the Marsh Barton Industrial Estate and elsewhere. “They have a significant track record of acquiring and enhancing/investing in property assets within the locality,” it adds.
From the council’s point of view, rising rents and increased maintenance and energy costs could mean the building running at a loss under the current arrangement.
Options if the sale does not proceed are to wind down the facility, market it or operate it directly in-house.
The report explains that the Exeter Business Centre is a wholly-owned, non-profit council company which gives the council no direct financial gain but tots up significant costs.
The move could save more than £10,000 a year while maintaining support for local businesses.
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