Country’s first new pop-up business rental space in Coleraine

Former surfboard manufacturers Chris Martin and Stephen Murray have created the country’s first, dedicated a pop-up rental space in Coleraine.
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Sprout Pop-Up Collective’s goal is to help local businesses succeed and flourish while limiting their financial risk by offering short term lets and professional support and advice.

Using 20 years of combined entrepreneurial experience founders Chris and Stephen will help new businesses maximise their potential and avoid the pitfalls new businesses face. They aim to transform the highstreet by supporting new, innovative businesses, hungry to grow their idea and scale their business up to the next level.

The new Coleraine shop, located at the site of former Buchanans jewellers on Kingsgate Street, allows entrepreneurs to rent the space for a short period of time from one week to one month. The short term lets mean new business can experience all the benefits of having their own shop without the financial risk of taking on a 12 month lease, rates and electricity.

Chris explained: “Since the beginning of furlough thousands of people who’ve been working 9-5 jobs have been dreaming about starting their own business and our aim is to help new businesses in Northern Ireland thrive. We want to help people make their business dreams come true, that’s why we have taken away as much risk as possible. Our clients can take over the shop and create an unforgettable experience for their customers without the fear of losing their life savings. If you want to launch a business or start a shop there has never been a better way to do it.

“There is no reason to put yourself at financial risk when you can use the Sprout Pop-Up shop to test your market and meet your customers. Find out what the public really thinks before you decide to fully commit to your new business. The highstreet has been dying for years and we believe the only way to get people back into town centres is to offer them a more personalised shopping experience. We tell our clients to treat their pop-up like a festival, not a shop. Build the hype and let the public know what’s coming. Nobody wants to miss out so make your pop-up an unforgettable experience that will be missed once it’s gone.”

Sprout’s first client is Ride Electric, an English ebike company. Ride Electric chose to launch their first shop outside of mainland UK with Sprout because they could quickly and easily transform the space from blank canvas into a premium ebike shop in a matter of hours.

Founder of Ride Electric, Craig Goff-Cooper, explained: ”We needed a premium space for a short period of time and the Sprout Pop-Up shop fit the bill perfectly. We are in week three and the response to the shop has been an overwhelming success.”

Stephen MurrayStephen Murray
Stephen Murray

Stephen added: “Ride Electric has proven how successful the shop can be. We will build upon their success to support entrepreneurs in every way we can.”

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