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Helen West of Business Link Yorkshire, comments; “The location of our new operation was absolutely crucial. The new Business Link organisation has been designed to centralise operations, encompassing all four former sub regional Business Link, and many of their previous employees. From here, we will be servicing the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber. It was therefore vital for both organisation and staff, that our new location within the region is centrally located and has fantastic road connections to all parts of Yorkshire.”

Helen continues; “It was also essential that the new business space met the requirements of a large, modern organisation. We have a 300 strong team, with 165 full time staff based at Capitol Court and we planned for all head office functions and our Customer Information centre to be based at the new offices. We had a lengthy search to find the right premises and Capitol Court has ticked all the right boxes."

When completed, the entire development at Capitol Park, which is being brought forward by Sterling Capitol, will also house a hotel, provision for a 250-space park and ride facility and a further 450,000 sq. ft of industrial and office accommodation offering the business community high quality facilities that are a real alternative to city-based premises.

Lee Buchanan, development manager for Priority Sites Ltd, comments: “We are delighted to welcome Business Link as the first occupier at One Captiol Court. We have worked very hard to create prestigious, Grade A business accommodation that will meet the needs of modern organisations. The prime location of the development makes it an appealing proposition for both Barnsley companies looking to expand and businesses from further afield, looking for a strategically located office space with direct access to the M1.

Shaun Higginbottom, Barnsley Development Agency adds “We are absolutely delighted that the new Business Link service has chosen Barnsley for its new headquarters. Not only does this building offer prestigious office accommodation, it is also ideally located to serve local and regional markets – something which will be key to Business Link’s service.

Barnsley is a great place to do business, and this relocation is a clear indication that a service such as Business Link recognises the advantages we can offer.”

The Business Link lease agreement for Capitol Court was completed by Chris Rowlands and Co. The office space that now remains available within the development ranges in size from 5,000 sq ft up to 15,000 sq ft. For further information, please contact Chris Rowlands & Co (01226 791984) or Knight Frank (0114 272 9750).

Priority Sites, a joint venture development company, has worked closely with Sterling Capitol and has received strong support from English Partnerships to bring One Capitol Court to fruition. The whole Capitol Park development has been supported by a £2.65 million grant from Objective One and has been brought forward working closely with Renaissance South Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward and Barnsley Development Agency.

-ends-

For further press information, please contact Mandy Galinsky at Waterside Communications on 0113 287 5910 or email: mandy.g@watersidecomms.com.

Picture caption from left to right: Shaun Higginbottom of Barnsley Development Agency; Lee Buchanan of Priority Sites; Helen West of Business Link Yorkshire; Kevin Person of Business Link Yorkshire and Chris Rowlands of Chris Rowlands and Co.

Notes to editors:

Both Priority Sites and Sterling Capitol have proved their expertise and capabilities in regenerating several English towns and cities.  Sterling Capitol’s Capitol Park Thorne and Capitol Park Leeds have revitalised their communities and created more than 2,500 jobs between them.

Meanwhile Priority Sites  recently completed its three millionth square foot of commercial space, accommodating over 6,000 jobs since the joint venture development company owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland and English Partnerships was founded in 1997.

Priority Sites:
Priority Sites is one of England’s most active developers with a new building contract now starting on average every four weeks. Its success is due to the fact that it provides quality business premises that fit the needs of the companies that regional and local enterprise agencies want to attract, bringing new, long-term jobs to parts of England that need them the most. Unlike many commercial developers, building is done mainly speculatively, allowing companies to either rent or buy. For further information visit the website www.prioritysites.co.uk.

Business Link Yorkshire

On 1 April 2008 Business Link Yorkshire became the provider of Business Link services to businesses, and to anyone thinking of starting a business, across the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber. 

They provide access to impartial advice and expertise to solve business problems, meet business needs and create opportunities for businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber.
The new service provides

• A strong, single Business Link brand – impartial, independent and objective
• A new regional Gateway to business support
• New regional information services
• An exciting new region-wide service for start-up businesses
• Regional consistency of service, with delivery remaining local to customers
• Wider brokerage to support providers.

They work in partnership with the full range of organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that our services are fully integrated with other local services and that our activities are targeted to meet local and regional economic priorities.

Services are available locally in all parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, and can be accessed in a number of ways including:

• Telephone
• Website
• Events and seminar programmes
• or via a one to one meeting with a business adviser.

For further information, call Customer Information Centre on 0845 6 048048 or visit their website www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk

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