Startbarn

A home for new businesses in the North

We're turning a farm barn in the Cheshire countryside, near Chester, into thirteen rooms for new businesses from across the North, with a shared space at its heart.

We're not open yet. Register your interest to hear first about the rooms, prices and the opening date.

Register interest How the first intake will work
Drawing of a red-brick barn with a slate roof and arched cart doors, in a field with hedgerows, oak trees, a field gate and a footpath sign pointing to StartbarnSBStartbarn

The North has never been short of people who start things. We want to give more of them somewhere to start.

Startbarn is a platform for new northern businesses. Not a hot desk in a city tower, but a room of your own in the countryside, with neighbours who are building something too. We want the businesses that start here to grow here, take people on here and stay in the North.

  • Room to work

    A room of your own with a door that closes, in a converted barn with space to think.

  • People around you

    Twelve other new businesses under the same roof, sharing the space in the middle of the barn and what they've learned along the way.

  • Backing to grow

    We want to connect the businesses here with advice, suppliers and customers across the North. Tell us what would help most when you register.

Something more is on the way

Alongside the barn, we're building a platform to help the businesses here get up and running, and keep growing once they're in. We'll share the details with everyone who registers, before anyone else.

Register to hear first

Thirteen rooms under one roof

We're setting the barn up as thirteen rooms for new businesses, each a place of its own, with everyone sharing the space in the middle.

The plan shows how we're thinking about the layout. Final plans will follow, and the first businesses to register will help shape what goes in, from broadband and meeting space to storage and access outside office hours.

Illustrative floor plan of StartbarnThirteen numbered rooms. Twelve sit in two wings either side of a shared central space with large cart doors at each end, and room 13 is in a single-storey extension at the east end.12345678910111213SharedspaceCart doorsN
Illustrative layout. Final plans will follow.

Who the rooms are for

  • New businesses from across the North that have outgrown the spare room
  • Sole traders and small teams who want a room of their own
  • Founders who would rather not build a business on their own
  • Trades, makers, studios and tech businesses alike

How the first intake will work

  1. Register your interest

    It takes about a minute, and it doesn't commit you to anything.

  2. Hear first

    Before we open, we'll email room details, prices and the opening date to everyone who has registered.

  3. Come and look round

    See the barn and the rooms for yourself before you decide.

  4. Move in

    The first thirteen businesses open the barn together.

Questions

Where is the barn?

On a farm in the Cheshire countryside near Chester, in the North West. We'll share the exact location with everyone who registers, before we open.

Why the North?

Because it's where we are, and because new businesses here deserve somewhere good to start without moving away to do it.

How much will a room cost?

Prices aren't set yet. Everyone who registers will hear them before we open.

When does it open?

We haven't fixed a date. Registered businesses will hear it first.

Can I bring a team?

Tell us how many people need space when you register. It helps us decide how to lay out the rooms.

Does registering commit me to anything?

No. It only means we'll email you about Startbarn. We only use your details for that, we don't share them, and we'll delete them if you ask.

Register your interest

Tell us about your business and what you'd need. We'll email you before Startbarn opens.

Where is the business now?
How many people need space?
What would you need? (pick any)
When would you want a room?

We only use your details to contact you about Startbarn.