We weren't the biggest visitors to the football stadium area this week of course, but we did enjoy working in the cafe and enjoying the coffee that Monday morning as we put the site together for the day.

Allia offers flexible workspace and a vibrant community for small businesses and start-ups who are creating change.

Services offered include permanent office space, virtual offices, co-working, meeting and conferencing (catering available), and business support (that is fully funded and free for anyone to access).

The site, open for seven years, caters for small businesses and start-ups based in Peterborough and the surrounding areas who are looking for flexible workspace in an inspiring business community.

The seating pods in the café give a great view of the city stretching to the centre in what is a relaxed and very attractive building.

I took a wander with marketing communications officer Sophie Fryer who is based in both Peterborough and the sister site in Cambridge.

She said: "It's such a lovely building. Obviously Covid had an effect on everybody, but we're pretty much back to where we were now.

"It's great fun to work here - everyone is so lovely."

There are about 17 tenants, and many more ventures enrolled on business programmes at various stages of the business journey. Some will have been helped by Allia's start-up/business coach Claire Simsek, to decide if their idea is viable and then take the first steps into launching their business.

There's a Grow Your Business programme - the clue is in the name - and the Accelerator programme for those looking to progress further.

My favourite room is the Innovation Lab - a fully equipped lab facility for designing, testing and prototyping environmental products & services.

The 3d printers are among the state-of-the-art tech on offer; it's clearly a 'worked in' lab, and all the better for it!

For more information on the programmes on offer and help your business can receive, go to https://futurebusinesscentre.co.uk/

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