Mixed-use enterprise: King Street, Stirling
Creating vibrant town centres is about more than retail. Increasingly, town centres are becoming places where people can work, collaborate, create, stay and invest. A strong example of this can be found at 45 King Street in the heart of Stirling city centre.
Following a £3 million investment, a long-vacant historic building has been transformed into a mixed-use destination that combines accommodation, flexible workspace, events facilities and creative production space. The development has brought a prominent town centre property back into productive use while supporting entrepreneurship, tourism and economic activity.
The building is home to King Street Aparthotel, a boutique aparthotel offering 15 stylish rooms and suites for business and leisure visitors. Located within walking distance of Stirling’s transport links, shops, restaurants and attractions, the aparthotel helps attract visitors into the town centre and encourages spending with local businesses. The business actively promotes partnerships with nearby cafés, restaurants, attractions and charities, helping to strengthen the local economy and visitor experience.
Alongside the aparthotel sits WorKing Flexispaces, a modern business hub designed for entrepreneurs, remote workers, start-ups and established companies. The facility provides fully furnished private offices, coworking desks, meeting rooms, business lounge facilities and high-speed digital infrastructure. Flexible licence arrangements allow businesses to scale up or down according to their needs, reducing barriers to town centre business growth.
The development also includes King Street Events, which offers flexible meeting, training and event space for businesses, organisations and community groups. Rooms can be configured for board meetings, workshops, networking events, presentations and training sessions, creating opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange within the town centre.
Beyond business use, King Street Events hosts community-focused events such as comedy nights, live entertainment and social gatherings, bringing together local residents, visitors and members of the business community in a different and more informal setting. These events create opportunities for people to connect, collaborate and experience the town centre outside of traditional working hours. Delivered in partnership with local venues, caterers, performers and entertainment providers, they help generate additional footfall, support local supply chains and encourage spending with neighbouring businesses. By creating shared experiences that appeal to a wide audience, King Street Events demonstrates how town centre venues can support both economic activity and community life while strengthening connections between businesses, residents and visitors.
Supporting the growing creative economy is Studio King Street, a professionally equipped podcast, audio and content creation studio. Available to businesses, content creators and organisations, the studio enables the production of podcasts, video content, audiobooks and digital media from a town centre location. This investment in creative infrastructure helps local businesses embrace digital communication and reach wider audiences.
The studio is also home to the Stirling Business Podcast, hosted by founder Neil Munday, which provides a platform for local businesses, entrepreneurs and community leaders to share their stories, experiences and insights. By giving a voice to the local business community and showcasing the breadth of enterprise across the area, the podcast helps foster connections, raise awareness of local businesses and celebrate success stories.
This investment in creative infrastructure supports businesses to embrace digital communication, build their profiles and reach wider audiences from a town centre base.
The combination of hospitality, workspace, events and creative facilities demonstrates how town centre buildings can be repurposed to support multiple forms of enterprise under one roof. By bringing together visitors, entrepreneurs, remote workers, content creators and growing businesses, the King Street development has created a vibrant business community while helping to increase footfall and economic activity in Stirling city centre.
Why it matters
- Brings a long-term vacant town centre building back into productive use.
- Creates flexible workspace for entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses.
- Supports collaboration through meeting and event facilities, and creative production space.
- Attracts visitors who spend with local businesses, strengthening the town centre economy.