Swansea city centre has been praised as a place to work by a number of city centre businesses.
As well as the closeness of Swansea Market and city centre restaurants, cafes and shops, city centre businesses say the availability of activities there is great for exercises like teambuilding.
The number of new or forthcoming office developments has also been given the thumbs-up. These include the 71/72 Kingsway scheme being developed by Swansea Council at the former Oceana nightclub site.
The praise follows-on from the launch of a Swansea Council campaign called Enjoy Your City Centre, which is aimed at raising the profile of all there is to see and visit in the city centre – from shops, restaurants, cafes and activity businesses to cultural venues and professional service providers.
Posts using #EnjoyYourCityCentre are being included every week on the council’s Facebook and Instagram pages to help raise the profile of the city centre’s varied business community.
Chris Flynn is the director of operations at Ortharize – an online business travel booking and management company based on Princess Way.
He said:
“Swansea is barely recognisable compared to how it was about 12 years ago – it’s improved so much.
“The city centre is a great place to have a business base because there’s a real buzz at the moment and so much choice, ranging from good quality shops to the best indoor market in Wales which is so warm and welcoming.
“There are also more jobs and up-and-coming businesses here now, which is encouraging local people to stay in Swansea and find work here.”
Jed Dixon, Marketing Executive at Ortharize, said:
“Swansea city centre is now far more diverse in terms of its food choices, which is a great thing for workers in the city centre going for lunch or some food after work.
“It’s also a great place to do teambuilding because of the number of activity businesses there, ranging from cocktail-making and indoor golfing to trampolining and an escape room.”
Ever Nimble is an IT and cyber security provider which opened a Swansea office on High Street last year.
Chris Morrissey, Ever Nimble Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I’m so pleased with our decision to open an office in Swansea city centre.
“Our team loves the convenience of great lunch spots, affordable car parking and excellent train links.
“A great way to support businesses interested in coming to the city is more choice of high-quality office spaces, so it’s fantastic to see some of the new offices currently being built.”
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said:
“From Swansea Arena and the improvements to The Kingsway and Wind Street, a £1bn regeneration programme is transforming our city centre into a far more vibrant place for people to visit, enjoy, study and live – and there’s far more to come.
“What’s happened so far is already encouraging the private sector to invest, and more top quality office space is on the way at developments including 71/72 Kingsway, Princess Quarter and the living building scheme taking shape at Picton Yard.
“This will then create more footfall for other city centre businesses and combine with other schemes to create the kind of modern, city centre that meets local people’s aspirations.”
