A ONE-STOP advice centre will open in one half of a building owned by Grimsby's oldest electrical store.
Rayners has agreed to sell its former furniture shop at 146 Freeman Street to business partners Steve Ryder, managing director of CPO Media, and Paul Silvester, Foresight's chief officer, for £135,000.
The shop, which has been vacant since April, will be converted into a two-floor training centre, boasting careers, debt, credit housing, and benefits advice – as well as a creche on the ground floor.
The adjoining Rayners electrical store at 136 to 144 Freeman Street is not included in the sale.
However, owner David Neale confirmed that the store will close in the new year after 90 years of trading.
The advice shop will get a number of businesses on board to man the shop such as Grimsby Institute, Franklin College, Shoreline Housing, Credit Union, Lincs 2 Guidance, Jobcentre Plus.
Work on converting the store is due to start in January next year and the partners hope to open the centre, with 40 car-parking spaces at the rear, in April 2013.
There are also plans for 40 KW solar panels and biomass heating.
Mr Ryder said: "A number of people said they are looking for a community learning space in the East Marsh and I thought the space in Rayners was perfect with a large shop front window to display job and volunteer opportunities.
"People will be able to get advice from a range of services which will be based on desks in the huge ground-floor area.
"The second floor will have IT training rooms and an open space for training skills for people such as young mums."
Steve Kay, head of young peoples support services at North East Lincolnshire Council and chair of Lincs 2 Guidance, said: ""We hope it will also open up doors for businesses to work in partnership to give people of Grimsby access to information and guidance they may need."
Mr Neale, who runs Rayners with his wife Ann and his father-in-law Fred Rayner, said: "We have agreed a sale for half of our building and that is pending with our solicitors.
"There are no talks about a sale of the electrical store, but that is closing down and we, as a family, are retiring."
The half of the building being sold used to be Rayners furniture store. After it closed about 10 years ago, the company leased the space to another furniture company, which folded in April. The shop has been vacant since then and was put on the market in late summer.
Mr Neale added: "I am now 60 years old, my father-in-law is 85 and we have got no continuity for the business. We will close when we will have sold all our stock."
