A BUSINESS centre that has seen hundreds of small Swindon firms find their feet is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Business Space Services known as BSS opened in Cheney Manor at the beginning of February 1985.

BSS took over the former Triumph International site, which had become rundown.

General manager Maureen Harvey was there at from the outset in 1985 and remembers having to clear brambles outside the building and how cold it was inside.

She said: "There was nothing here, just a shell. I used to wear fingerless gloves and had a heater on my desk so I could keep my hands warm enough to type."

BSS was Swindon's first complex of low-cost business units. The aim was to create offices and workshops which were cheap, had simple leases and did not tie companies down for too long.

Today there are 70 companies and BSS supports about 300 jobs.

Maureen said: "It still works today. We keep rents low and provide management and back-up for small businesses.

"We are like a self-contained business village and everyone knows everyone. A lot of people are local and we support the local economy.

"There is a real community feeling. If someone needs help there is usually someone to turn to."

Thamesair, which deals with pneumatic equipment and air supplies, was the first company in and is still trading at Cheney Manor, albeit under different ownership.

Other businesses include Nicer Nails studio, which moved from Swindon town centre 13 years ago, Jenny's Caf, Systems Integration and Manor Furniture, as well as natural stone importers Anything Stone.

Two years ago BSS opened a second centre at South Marston with offices and small industrial units.

The official 20th anniversary celebrations take place on Friday, February 4 on Cheney Manor industrial estate. Swindon's mayor Peter Stoddart will be among the guests, as will coach and business consultant Jim Cronin and Andy Lopata, managing director of business networking organisation BRE.

l While BSS has now become a well-established part of Swin-don's business scene, a new centre is about to open officially.

Basepoint in Rivermead Drive, Westlea, is holding a ceremony on Wednesday, February 2. It runs centres across the south of England and Swindon's is its 13th, with room for 96 firms who can take out two-week licence agreements.