Face the dragons den and win a great prize (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Face the dragons den and win a great prize

5:38pm Wednesday 9th May 2007 in

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EVEN the exclusive entrance lobby to the Great Hall at the former Leyton Town Hall is beautiful.

The mosaic floor and the double set of stairs rising from it are quite glamorous. With the splendid hall itself and other spaces that the new tenant can use, the total floor area is 5,144 sq ft.

And it could be your tenancy if you can develop a business that will win the hearts of the judges of the LMO Great Hall competition being run by the developers, Michael Polledri of Lee Valley Estates and Guy Davis of Hiltongrove Business Space.

They have spent many millions of pounds restoring the Grade II listed town hall building, latterly known as Leyton Municipal Offices, and creating in it a Legacy Business Centre, a restaurant and coffee shop.

The Great Hall is on an upper floor with access by lift for disabled people. It is hoped that the tenancy will, initially, be for ten years and the prize will be the equivalent of one year rent-free.

Whoever takes on the challenge must be able to prove that: l The business is a good financial proposition l Would add to the culture and vitality of the area l Will be a good neighbour both to other users of the building and to the surrounding community l Ideally it should contribute to the post-2012 Olympic legacy.

Some suggestions are that the Great Hall could become a performance space, an independent cinema, an art gallery and exhibition space, social space for events like wedding receptions, an Olynpics-related venue or any other business-like proposition you can conjure up.

Closing date for entries in Thursday, May 31. Entries will then be shortlisted before the best ones make a presentation of Thursday, June 25, to a "dragon's den" panel.

IF you are keen to enter the LMO Great Hall Competition, your opportunity to view it comes next week, on Friday, May 18, from 1pm onwards.

Experts from the developers' companies will be there to offer information and advice.