Ashpine House offers a network of fully equipped highclass offices and meeting rooms, which can be rented for any required duration of time, whether that's one hour, one day, one week or one year.

There's even a virtual office service for those who require a professional business presence without the need for physical office space.

"This idea was born from personal experience, " says Ger Donnelly, a developer who built the environmentally friendly Integer Eco House in Shankill.

"I started out working out of the box bedroom at home. A friend then offered me space in his offices. When we quickly outgrew that, we discovered there was nowhere offering the kind of quality accommodation we required. We needed someone to answer the phone and look after the secretarial end so we could project a professional image.

At the same time, I needed to be free to concentrate on the actual business."

There are 12 offices available to rent in Ashpine House.

Charges range from 850 per month for a single office measuring 13sq m up to 1, 300 for an office with floor space of 30sq m. The units are finished to a high specification and include broadband.

Secretarial, accounting and marketing facilities are offered and there is a chauffeur-driven limousine service available so clients can ferry business contacts to the airport or train station.

"We expect to attract business people from the four corners of the country and the UK. We're targeting the businessman who needs to set up a brief meeting with a client, or who wants to conduct interviews, or who requires the boardroom for a meeting with his associates. We also hope to appeal to people who are starting up in business for the first time and who perhaps want to test the waters before deciding whether or not to rent offices on a longterm basis.

"We already have one client who's using our virtual office service. He's involved in a startup business and he needs the kind of presence and back-up a professional facility like this offers. We're very confident this will work. We're already thinking in terms of expansion. We have someone sourcing property in Waterford and Cork, which are likely to be our next target areas."