New developments catering for smaller companies could bring significant improvements to Chester city centre's business offering, according to speakers at an Insider event.
During the Invest in Chester breakfast at Muse Developments' One City Place scheme on Wednesday, 26 October 2016, attendees heard that having the right commercial offering was key to attracting and retaining businesses within the city centre.
Phil Mayall, development director of Muse, said that part of One City Place's offering was to attract Chester companies looking for new accommodation.
He added: "It is about giving options to those who want to stay in Chester and are attracted by the talent pool. If we do not then those who want to move will go elsewhere."
Mayall also alluded to potential plans for the development of City Place going forward, claiming that the site may offer space for smaller companies to grow within Chester city centre.
He said: "We are talking with an institution about providing space for smaller companies so when people are coming out of university that space is on their doorstep so they do not have to go elsewhere in the North West."
One company looking to relocate within Chester is DTM Legal.
Richard Thomas, partner at the firm, said: "We are focused on continued growth. Our lease runs out in two years' time and we are looking to relocate within Chester."
But Thomas, who has held positions on a number of business groups within the area, also stressed the importance of attracting non-Chester companies to the area.
Another running theme throughout the event was the importance of having a strong workforce to drive growth.
During the event's first panel discussion, Tom Williams, executive MBA director at Chester Business School, made the claim that growth in the area would struggle without a "sustainable and competitive workforce to improve productivity".
Some of the panellists suggested there was an IT skills gap in the region, but Bank of America Merrill Lynch's managing director in Chester Stephen Miller pointed to the area's "network of very high-quality universities".
He said: "One of the reasons we are here is because we are impressed with the talent pool.
"We are benefitting from the output of more than 30,000 graduates. We take staff from a wide catchment area and we are impressed with the talent on offer."
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