Enterprise North East Trust Announces Increase in Occupancy Levels in Aberdeenshire-Based Business Centres

Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) announces that the occupancy rates at the Westhill, Banff, Portlethen, Stonehaven and Turriff business centres are 100%.

This maintains the status quo at Westhill, Portlethen, Stonehaven and Turriff and represents an increase of 20% for the business centre in Banff, when compared to 2008 figures. There has also been an increase in occupancy levels at the Huntly, Peterhead and Fraserburgh based business centres. Occupancy levels have increased from 70% to 87% in Huntly, from 55% to 64% in Peterhead and from 37% to 57% in Fraserburgh. Meeting and conference room hire has increased during October and November 2009. Meeting room hire usage increased by 16% in the Aberdeen and Peterhead business centres and by 10% at the centre in Inverurie.

Karen Pugh, Director: Property Services at Enterprise says, “The increase in occupancy levels is fantastic news and represents the different approach many business owners are taking to their office requirements, as a result of the current economic climate. The centres in Banff, Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Huntly are doing exceptionally well achieving the best occupancy levels since they first opened. The average occupancy level for these four centres is 77% for 2009, compared to 51% for 2008. A quarter of our business centres also achieved 100% occupancy in 2009 and this puts them on a very strong footing as we enter into 2010.

“As the economic climate has raised uncertainty for many organisations, it has led many to be reluctant to take on long term leases on office premises. As a result, we have seen an increasing trend in new and growing enterprises opting to locate their business within a serviced business centre. As our minimum lease period is one month, this flexibility proves attractive for both new and growing businesses.

“We have also seen an increase in the number of meeting and conference rooms we have hired out in the last couple of months. Organisations including Aberdeenshire Council, the NHS, Johnson and Carmichael and Aberdeen University have used the meeting and conference facilities we provide across our portfolio of business centres. Many companies opt to use external meeting rooms for purposes such as team planning meetings, training or annual general meetings, as these facilities allow people to focus on the task at hand without the general distractions of the office environment.”

Enterprise manages 16 business centres across the north east of Scotland, including the Newmachar Business Centre which was added to its portfolio at the beginning of 2009. It has also recently added a new service for new or small businesses; the Workstation. This provides businesses with the use of a workstation with a dedicated phone number and wi-fi access. Also included is telephone answering in the company name by Enterprise’s professional reception staff, access to all communal areas and discounted use of meeting and conference room space. Agreements can be made on a month to month basis and the Workstation facilities are available at Newmachar Business Centre and Enterprise Business Centre, Admiral Court Aberdeen.

Enterprise is one of the largest providers of purpose built offices and meeting rooms. Working in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council, Enterprise has centres located across the north east in Aberdeen, Inverurie, Banff, Huntly, Aboyne, Newmachar, Oldmeldrum, Portlethen, Stonehaven, Turriff, Fraserburgh, Peterhead (Burnside), Ellon and Westhill. Enterprise also has centres in Dundee and Brechin.

For further information on Enterprise Business Centres visit www.enetrust.com or call Karen Pugh on 01224 289700 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .