Small enterprises trading from Victoria Centre's bespoke mall units have seen their businesses go from strength to strength since moving into Nottingham's premier shopping centre.

The units were introduced last summer in a drive to support local enterprise and the opportunity has certainly opened up a whole new world for florist, Jenny Jarecki.

Owner of 'Design by Tomkins Florist', Jenny has seen her turnover rise by 30% taking on a mall unit last October, and this success has led her to make a permanent move from her Carlton Road shop. She said: 

"Being in the Victoria Centre has increased awareness of my business across Nottinghamshire. I've picked up orders from people who never knew I existed before and a number of corporate contracts in the city including a weekly delivery of arrangements to Frankie and Benny's restaurant."

She was also given the contract to supply flowers for a large Christmas event at Colwick Hall when she was spotted by their Events Manager who was taking a walk through the centre.

"Carlton residents won't miss out though!" she added. "A former member of my staff, Kelly Cotterill, has now been able to fulfil her dream of having her own florist shop by taking over my old lease and opening 'The Flower Boutique'. I'm sure she'll be very successful."

Jenny is hoping the move will give her more time to fulfil her own passion of teaching the art of floristry and is currently looking forward to running workshops for the long-term unemployed in conjunction with Nottinghamshire Business Venture. She said: "I really believe that working with flowers can give people a more positive outlook on life and help them achieve lots of things. " 

Commenting on the support she's received from Julia Matthews, Victoria Centre's Commercialisation Coordinator, Jenny said: "She has been amazing and I really can't recommend her enough. She helped with the design and set up of unit and she's continually available to chat through ideas and offer advice and support. As a small business, I was really very nervous about moving into a large, corporate environment but the backing and support offered by Julia and her team have made the journey so easy."

 Danielle Lydon, owner of celebration cake company, 'Your Unique Day' has seen her orders increase by an astounding 90% since she moved into her specially designed unit last June and has had to take on five additional part-time staff members to cope with demand.

She said: "It's made a complete difference to the business. I have an outlet in Netherfield but the footfall in Victoria Centre means many more people are now seeing my unique creations and are willing to pay more to have something completely different at their party or event."

Danielle decorates all her cakes herself, the likes of which, she says, are not seen outside of London. Such has been the growth of her business in the past seven months that she is currently in the process of expanding her Netherfield unit into the one next door where she plans to run children's cup cake parties.

Danielle says this new venture would never have happened without the help and support of the management team at Victoria Centre. "They've been simply brilliant." she said. "Nothing is too much trouble. They have offered me fantastic support and are always on the end of the phone to help with any queries.  I used to look at what I do as a hobby but being part of Victoria Centre has made me see it as a real business with great potential for future growth."

Toniann Harwood, owner of specialist toy company Knot Just Jigs, moved into the Victoria Centre in November 2010 and says it has been great to showcase her goods to a wider audience.

"We traded off our website and attended craft fairs and shows before deciding to move into the shopping centre and the constant stream of passers by makes our days much more varied and interesting. Turnover has increased and we plan to expand our range of products to include unique gifts for older children and adults including gifts of vintage wirework, padded fabric hearts and tea cup candles etc." 

Toniann says that, as a small business coming into an environment filled with large brand shops, Julia's help and support has been crucial. "She was extremely helpful in terms of making the initial set up run as smoothly as possible and we have had regular contact to discuss ways of increasing sales." she said. "She has also been very helpful with advice, ideas and support and is a great point of contact for any problems or issues.  She has made me feel acknowledged, even though my needs are very different from the large businesses within the centre."

Julia Matthews says: "We're thrilled to have such positive feedback from the businesses that have taken up these opportunities in the mall units.  We really believe it's important to support new enterprise and the growth that these businesses have shown in such a short space of time is very rewarding indeed."

The centre is now looking for more high quality local enterprises to come on board and is offering flexible packages aimed at meeting the needs of small businesses. The support available includes merchandising and display advice, security, cleaning and storage facilities. 

Julia added: "We'd particularly like to see a food retailer such as a Deli', a nail bar and even a children's hairdresser joining us and helping us to meet the needs of our diverse range of shoppers."