Newport Now, the Business Improvement District (BID) for the city centre, will be providing free pop-up shops for aspiring entrepreneurs for the next six months.
The shops will be available to start-up and existing businesses looking for shop units in a prime location from the middle of this month until the end of March next year.
The units in the Kingsway shopping centre will be available free of charge thanks to funding from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, in partnership with Newport City Council.
The BID initiative is designed to help local businesses test the market in a prime location without upfront costs or long-term commitments.
Since announcing the project via social media, the response has been very encouraging says the BID, with requests from new and existing businesses across South Wales.
M4 Property Consultants are co-ordinating the project for Newport Now BID and are keen to encourage more businesses to apply.
Shops will be available to businesses from a single day to several weeks (dependent upon demand), to make it as easy as possible for the opportunity to be experienced by as many as possible.
Dan Smith, Director of M4 Property Consultants and Newport Now BID board member, will be managing the scheme.
Explaining the decision to offer this opportunity, he said:
“Newport Now BID recognises the difficulties some start-up businesses face when searching for high-street retail space. Hence, with the support of the funding from UK Government – achieved with the help of our partners at Newport City Council – we hope this scheme encourages participants to ‘test the market’, free of charge.”
Councillor James Clarke, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, said:
“This is a fantastic initiative, and I’m delighted that we have been able to support it with some of our allocation from the funding we received from the UK Government.
“It’s great to hear that there is already interest in the scheme which shows there is confidence in the city centre which has experienced a growth in footfall over the last year.
“We have some excellent businesses, many of them independent, and we look forward to meeting these new entrepreneurs. I’m sure they will flourish and hope they will become more permanent fixtures in the city centre.”
The project aims to help revitalise the city centre by filling vacant units and supporting local entrepreneurs in gaining ‘high street’ experience.
Dan added:
“In similar initiatives, businesses have launched new products, gained valuable in-store experience, and learned from other retailers. Some have gained the confidence to go on and take a permanent unit as a result. We hope that this could happen as a result of this project also.”
To express interest or request more information, email enquiries@m4pc.co.uk
