Budding entrepreneurs enter Dragons' Den

It will bring young entrepreneurs of the future into direct contact with business leaders, mentors and creative talent. The launch is being held to co-incide with Enterprise Week 2008.

Among the services which The Hub provides are The Cut newspaper, run by young people at the Stowe; Fashion Enterprise project, to produce and sell t-shirts and accessories; Youth Enterprise evenings, where local businesses present opportunities for young people; Dragons' Den, where young people pitch to a panel of industry experts for bursary grants to run their own test businesses.

The Hub service is provided by Paddington Development Trust, which is financed by Westminster Council.

Westminster Council's leader Cllr Colin Barrow said: ""In these tough times, I salute everyone who is intending to start a business.

"Good advice is crucial and the team at The Hub really know what they're doing.

"Their help, coupled with the invaluable knowledge of experts already running successful businesses, will give a massive head start to budding entrepreneurs in Westminster and I hope they can take away valuable ideas which will put them on the road to success.

"I'm waiting to see which one of the Hub users will be the first to appear on the Dragon's Den TV show."

The Stowe Centre was officially opened in July 2006 by Prince Edward. Since then it welcomes up to 400 young people through its doors every week.