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By Kristy Dorsey

Kilmarnock’s Halo regeneration project is set to become home to the newest in the UK-wide network of Eagle Labs business incubators run by banking group Barclays.

Scheduled to open in May within the Halo Enterprise and Innovation Centre (HEIC), which is currently under construction, it will be Scotland’s third Eagle Lab and the first to be located outside a major city. It will occupy 15,500sq ft of the 46,000sq ft HEIC, with 110 desks providing co-working space for start-up businesses.

The three-year agreement marks another milestone in the £63 million Halo project, a plan hatched by local businesswoman Marie Macklin after Diageo announced in 2009 that it would close down its Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the Ayrshire town. That led to the loss of 700 jobs and left behind an abandoned 23-acre site where Halo is now in the midst of an extensive building programme.

READ MORE: Milestone for former Johnnie Walker site in Ayrshire

“In the face of Covid, this deal with Barclays is a huge vote of confidence in the local community,” Ms Macklin said. “Rather than just writing nice cheques, they are putting their experience and expertise into this project.”

The lab will be regularly staffed by three to four Barclays employees, but firms will also have access to the bank’s wider network of start-up specialists. There are currently 24 Eagle Labs across the UK, including the Scottish incubators that opened in Edinburgh in 2018 and Aberdeen in 2019.

Stuart Brown, head of business banking for Barclays in Scotland, said the Eagle Lab will support firms from across the community, not just those directly associated with the Halo project. The aim, he said, is to rebuild a thriving local economy.

“The focus is to help accelerate scale-ups by promoting collaboration across the entire ecosystem,” Mr Brown said. “Our reach is wider than the physical labs – we have a network of mentors, partners and experts who can help small businesses achieve their ambitions.”

The Herald: Marie Macklin with Jes Staley and Stuart Brown of BarclaysMarie Macklin with Jes Staley and Stuart Brown of Barclays

The agreement follows a visit by Barclays chief executive Jes Staley to Kilmarnock in June 2019, when the bank announced the town would become the second of four locations in its Thriving Local Economies growth initiative. As part of the three-year pilot project, Barclays is working with the local authority, education and businesses groups such as Halo to support economic growth and improve skills and training.

Ms Macklin added: “We see Barclays as being a key in our overall vision for what Halo is trying to achieve. We believe that local towns and communities will have a big part to play in the economic recovery from the pandemic.”

The HEIC is the focal point of the wider Halo project, which incorporates a variety of business, housing, leisure and community facilities. In addition to Eagle Labs, the innovation centre will provide workspace for larger firms and will also be home to a cyber training facility providing digital coursework for 16 to 24-year-olds.

READ MORE: Macklin calls for Scottish towns to be at heart of Covid recovery 

Along with studios designed specifically for entrepreneurs, there are plans to build 210 homes available at “affordable rent”. These are being developed in partnership with the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) and will operate on 100 per cent renewable energy, including low-carbon heat pumps.

Diageo donated the 23-acre site to the project for £1 in 2012 on the proviso that the land be used for a community regeneration project. The drinks giant additionally provided £2m in funding.

The project has also attracted £3.5m from the UK government, £3.5m from the Scottish government and £2m from East Ayrshire Council, plus £15m in private sector investment.