Mobile phone retailer O2 has unveiled a new format store targeted at business users which includes space for work, meetings and seminars.

The store, O2 Workshop, is being trialled by O2 over the next year and is aimed at attracting small and medium business customers.

O2 has opened the store on Tottenham Court Road in central London in partnership with franchise partner Telenomics.

It is made up of 1,500 sq ft of sales space on the ground floor and 3,500 sq ft of workshop space in the basement which includes seminar and meeting rooms, a private conference room, customer lounge and a ‘Guru Bar’ where customers can get advice about phones and contracts.

Head of O2 Retail Richard Bayliss said: “We’re hoping to create something really different. Offering that advice and service gives customers a really good reason to come in to the store. It’s about relevance.

“Increasingly customers are going to be asking about how they can fit it all together. It’s challenging and changing the role of the retailer on the high street”.

Customers will need to register with O2 before being able to use most of the facilities, which include wireless internet access, meeting spaces and refreshments.

The mobile phone operator has no immediate plans to rollout more of the stores and is waiting to judge the response of customers over the next 12 months before making a decision.

Telenomics already operates three other O2 stores in London and the South East.