A new business incubator centre has been opened by Rishi in Northallerton.
The first Barclays Eagle Lab in North Yorkshire was opened at the Treadmills Centre.
The Lab, one of 23 around the UK operated by Barclays Bank, is designed to help boost North Yorkshire’s start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem, driving growth in the local economy.
The opening was also attended by the chief executive of Barclays Bank C.S. Venkatakrishnan.
Barclays is operating in partnership with tech incubator specialists C4DI (Centre for Digital Innovation), which opened in the former prison building last year.
The Eagle Lab is part of the £2.3m C4DI Northallerton tech hub, bringing advanced digital skills and jobs to Northallerton to help drive economic growth in the technology sector.
The Eagle Lab will provide start-ups and entrepreneurs with co-working, office and meeting space. Barclays will also support entrepreneurs with access to banking services and expertise, mentoring and coaching from scale-up specialists.
The team will also host a full year-round events programme dedicated to promoting collaboration and innovation in the community.
Beyond providing a hub to work from, Eagle Labs offer members the opportunity to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, local organisations, universities, industry bodies and potential clients and investors across the country, to help them build their networks.
Rishi said: “North Yorkshire has a strong small-business, entrepreneurial culture and the Eagle Lab will help boost that in the technology sector which offers such potential for future growth and success.
“Providing a home for people with great ideas and connecting them with the people who can help make those ideas work successfully is what this new centre is all about.
“I look forward to hearing about exciting start-ups and existing businesses scaling up to deliver high quality jobs on the back of technological innovation.”
Businesses can now apply now to become residents at the Northallerton Eagle Lab at https://labs.uk.barclays/
The Leader of Hambleton District Council, which has developed the Treadmills and C4DI with the Wykeland Group, welcomed the new partnership.
Coun Mark Robson said: “To see such a unique concept, which has been years in the making, come to fruition, is a proud day for all involved. The work Barclays will do at C4DI will put Northallerton firmly on the map as a destination of choice for business start-ups, digital education and training.”
The Treadmills scheme has reinvented the derelict, 230-year-old prison site as a digital workspace, educational facility and retail and leisure community, with further investment now under way – including a cinema – to complete the regeneration.
