'We want this to be a network for independent businesses and a sustainable way to grow your business in Wolverhampton city centre'

A large warehouse area at the former Express & Star headquarters on Castle Street in Wolverhampton has undergone a substantial transformation worth £250,000 over the last 18 months, turning it from a derelict store room into a wellbeing and community centre.

The fused. building has been dubbed "The West Midlands' first super salon" and will be home to a number of small, independent businesses from across the region who have been invited to make their home inside the new facility, which opened on Wednesday.

Inside, the building is already home to a hair salon called Shade, a barbers called Steel Wolf Collective and a podcast studio called fused. Creative, while a tattooist is in the final stages of setting up and, on the upper level, there will be wellbeing and aesthetic hubs dedicated to eyelashes and nails.

The centre is the next stage of a long-term project by BAX Construction at the building, which saw space. café open in November 2024, with managing director Ben Anslow saying that he was pleased to see the project finally get to the current phase of being able to open to the public and explaining what the ethos was.

He said: "I did think it was doing to happen fast, but with space. opening within 12 weeks of acquiring the building, it was a quite a big financial burden and, with the growing business and cash flow, it was important to have a sustainability model for the business.

"Now, it is sustainable and it is self-funded, with the money coming back into the company and allow us to carry on building it and I'm really proud of what we've achieved, not just me, but the big team behind me at BAX Construction, as everyone supports each other and that's part of the ethos of this place, of a family feeling.