High-tech sector in favour of a home in the Dome

After plans by Japanese bank Nomura to convert the Dome into a permanent theme park fell through, Legacy is now looking to take over the site when the Millennium Experience exhibition closes at the end of the year. The company hopes to convert the structure into a centre for ebusiness, and industry leaders are eager to move in.

Speaking on silicon.com's The Big Question programme, Jonathan Robinson, CEO of NetBenefit, said: "I think London could do with a high-tech business park and the Dome certainly is an inspiring structure. It seems to have great transport links, and infrastructure, so I would probably put my money where my mouth is, and go for it."

The Dome already looks the part, but it will need a lot of work before the interior will be conducive to ebusiness. Richard Latham, CEO of Bluewave, said: "It could be a good place for a business as long as it doesn't feel like a 365 days a year trade show. It depends on what buildings they construct underneath it."

Another contributor to the programme, Ben Goodger, lawyer at Willoughby and Partners, has seen the whole Dome develop from his offices in Canary Wharf - another high-profile East London development project that had a bad start.

He said: "We have seen the Dome go up, we think it's great. I think it is an icon of high-tech. The problem is that the contents have not been that good."

The consensus of the guests on the programme was in favour of the Dome, but CEOs were understandably cautious, given the site's troubled history.

Natalie Calvert, MD of Calcom, was the only one who said categorically that she would not consider moving in.

She said: "If you look at all the Feng Shui that has gone on with that particular area, the place is a disaster, and anything that you put in there will not be successful.

"But I have to say that I have been to the Dome, and I loved it, so I am a Dome fan. I just wouldn't put my business in there."