Young entrepreneurs are to be offered office space in Hammersmith to help them start up in business from next year.
Olly Olsen, founder and chief executive of The Office Group, revealed his intention to support the provide heavily subsidised space within its 100,000 sq ft premises at One Lyric Square.
Mr Olsen had spoken during a breakout session on Creating and Entrepreneurial Culture about his desire to see central government provide hubs in an environment where other businesses help to nurture that talent.
“There is enough real estate out there that’s vacant, if we can do that it would create a physical environment where everyone can everyone new can go it and it would give it some physicality to what is currently digital and out there, you need to actually go somewhere where everyone is,” he said.
“You have the hub, you then have the spokes throughout the UK and I think that it would work, no question.”
And asked by conference chair Amol Rajan whether he would consider such a scheme in West London he said: “We’re starting. I have 100,000 sq ft next door and I have the ability to do that.
“We’ve got the space and next year we’ll be launching a scheme where we are putting the entrepreneurs into it.
“It will be subsidised by my business and it will create an environment where they can come and work and what we will do.
“We’ve got a licence agreement with over 20,000 people that work in London that are signed up to work within our spaces, they will sign up to say ‘I’ll turn up, I’ll respect this place and I’ll pay, but also I’ll do my best to support the young entrepreneurs’ so there will be a virtual circle between my customers and these young people that come through.
“The reason why we’ve chosen to be here I think is going back to the main benefit of this area that I love is that close proximity to the residential area. That was one of the main benefits of being here amongst many other things.”
