A £2 million business centre in Llanelli is set to welcome its first young tycoons.
Young business people are preparing to move into the Delta Lakes Enterprise Centre.
Staff at the site have been inundated with enquiries from new companies wanting to locate there.
A panel of officers has just finished assessing applications and seven firms are about to move in.
It means that half of the state-of-the-art units have been filled way ahead of schedule and meetings will now be held monthly, to look at applications for the remaining seven units.
The hi-tech centre has been developed for people aged 18-39 who want to develop new and existing businesses.
Fourteen high quality offices, eight workshops and three industrial units have been built on prime land near the award winning Millennium Coastal Park.
Carmarthenshire County Council is behind the development, as part of a major business support programme.
It follows a schools programme which identified the need for support for young entrepreneurs.
Business Development Officer Angharad Jones said she was delighted by the response from businesses in the county.
She said: “We have received dozens of enquiries and seven businesses have been allocated space. We are in the process of writing to them to let them know they have been successful.
“We have been delighted by the response, particularly in the current business climate.
“We will be holding monthly business meetings to evaluate new applications and we look forward to welcoming the first companies to the centre in early September.”
Delta Lakes is a prime 34 acre site as part of the £250 million Llanelli Waterside, which has been earmarked for a hi-tech business and technology park.
The new businesses will be offered competitive rents, administrative support, and advice from the council’s business services team who are based at the centre.
They will also have access to free business advice through Business Eye and business loan opportunities at a low rate.
There are conference facilities and meeting rooms at the centre and with other business on site, it means there are good networking opportunities.
The council secured Objective One funding for the development, with units ranging from 320sq ft to 2,000 sq ft.
Regeneration Executive Board Member Cllr. Clive Scourfield said: “This is a fantastic development specifically aimed at young companies in Carmarthenshire and I am very pleased at the response from the business community.
“We understand the barriers that young people face when developing a business, and here they will have all the help they need in the early years to develop sustainable businesses.”
For further information contact Angharad Jones on 01554 742183.
Carmarthenshire County Council - 26 August 2008
