Glasgow City Council’s Business Growth team, Business Glasgow, has been working closely with businesses around the city affected by the devastating fires earlier this year.
Our team was given space in Clockwise, a flexible serviced office and coworking space at the Savoy Tower, to use as an information point for businesses to come in and speak to someone face to face. Our advisers have been there to offer support to the businesses since 26th June and will remain there for the foreseeable future.
The Savoy Shopping Centre currently has 50 retailers trading from the premises, many of whom are long standing tenants. Many of the businesses have been impacted by a decline in footfall as a result of the security cordons placed around the city. Our advisers have worked closely with these businesses to understand the impact to their business and to offer support and guidance.
Many of the businesses have benefitted from Business Gateway’s Digital Boost programme as signposted by our Business Advisers. Profits were down due to reduced footfall so helping to get the businesses online was essential to increase turnover. Digital Boost provides free support to businesses to help them become digital; there are local workshops; one-to-one support; online guides and tutorials; digital health checks and more available through the programme.
Some of the businesses were introduced to WorkingRite, a Youth Employment Charity that matches up keen local young people with local small-to-medium sized employers. Following a successful work placement, the business would potentially be eligible for support through the Glasgow Guarantee. The Glasgow Guarantee is a programme ran by Glasgow City Council that can help with the costs of recruiting a young unemployed person under 20 years old to gain a job with training or a Modern Apprenticeship.
We would like to thank Clockwise for providing our team with a base to work from and be available in order to support these businesses through a very difficult time. Their generosity has been invaluable and demonstrates their commitment to supporting local businesses.
To find out more about Clockwise and what they offer, visit: https://workclockwise.co.uk/
The information point is on Level 2, Savoy Tower, 77 Renfrew Street, G23BZ and remains open to all businesses affected by the fires. The service is available between 10am - 4pm weekdays.
Business Glasgow
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