Government opens pop up in headquarte​rs

The Department for Communities and Local Government has

opened the 'first ever Whitehall pop-up shop' in its own headquarters today as part of the government's efforts to regenerate high streets and encourage entrepreneurs.

Set up in conjunction with the help of national enterprise campaign, Start up Britain, the aim of ministers is to offer a blueprint for high streets across the UK to try and emulate, whereby every fortnight six new British start up businesses will move into the shop sharing costs and trialling their ideas.

The shop will be open to the public for at least a year and offer affordable retail space to over 150 small start-up businesses. The department is not seeking any financial return from the shop, which is also being supported by sponsors Intuit and John Lewis.

Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk says: ‘"There’s a real appetite in our town centres to get them revitalised so they remain attractive places to visit. And it’s not just talk: there are many extremely capable and serious people with some superb ideas; but they need a bit of help to get started.

"Pop-up shops are superb way for all sorts of entrepreneurs to test their ideas. So I’m delighted that the department is opening the first pop-shop in Whitehall, and I look forward to inviting all 330 Towns Teams here to see how they could replicate this model across the country."

Emma Jones, co-founder of Start Up Britain, added: "The Pop Up Britain model gives retail entrepreneurs an affordable opportunity to scale their businesses and become a part of their own high street.

"By actively encouraging local authorities to give start-ups access to empty shops across Britain, we hope it will help accelerate British enterprise as well as providing a vibrant addition to the local British shopping experience."