WINCHESTER is soon to get its own purpose-built managed business centre, ideal for start-ups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.

For Basepoint, the firm behind the scheme, the move has special significance because Winchester was where it has its roots, having been founded there 14 years ago.

Now the developer and operator of managed business centres has teamed up with the city council on a scheme that is aimed at providing much-needed resources for fledgling enterprises.

The council has made an office building in Winnall Valley Road, formerly owned by Thames Water, available to Basepoint to turn into a 25,000sqft bespoke business centre and work on site has already begun.

Licensees will be able to rent flexible, modern business units ranging in size from just 150sqft, ideal for a one or two-man operations, up to 600sqft offices for much larger teams.

As with all Basepoint centres, there will be a break-out area, a meeting room, the latest IT infrastructure and support from a dedicated on-site management team, all forming part of an overall package that can be terminated with just two weeks’ notice.

Fareham-based Amiri Construction are the contractors and they expect to take three weeks to demolish a warehouse at the back of the site to provide space for parking.

Then work will continue on remodelling and refurbishing the existing four-storey main building, with doors expected to open in early 2010.

Kit Finney, chairman of the Winchester branch of the North Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “This will be a major boost to the small business community in Winchester, providing the ideal setting both for existing small enterprises and for those entrepreneurs looking to make the jump from a home office to more professional premises.”

Basepoint already has centres in Basingstoke, Andover and Romsey and the new Winchester development is expected to be particularly popular, given the amenities of the city and its location close to the M3-A34 interchange.

Basepoint specialises in the development and operation of managed business, innovation and enterprise centres providing comprehensive accommodation and support infrastructure packages to new and early- stage companies in a supportive and secure environment.

The company operates both wholly and part-owned centres as well as managing facilities on behalf of public sector bodies.

Its group operations currently extend throughout Southern England and the Midlands, with additional opportunities under assessment elsewhere.

Basepoint is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ACT Foundation, a grant-making charity dedicated to improving the quality of life of those in need. The foundation derives its income from a diversified property portfolio of which Basepoint is a major constituent.