Hi all. Just a question here. iv'e spent a while on the net researching what system we need, id really appreciate if someone on here could advise me.

We have a ground floor shop with a main entrance area and 4 other rooms leading of it.

Are a regular interlinked smoke detectors sufficient?

Smoke detectors of the type you describe are for domestic use not commercial premises.

Fire alarm system design in all commercial premises starts with what is called Category M coverage, which is 'break glass' Manual Call Points and alarm sounders all connected to a fire alarm control panel, the system complying with BS5839-1:2017

Most shops,offices, etc only require this and no automatic detection. This is because in many cases a person will discover a fire and react quicker than a detector and thus needs some way of raising & spreading the alarm.

Automatic detection is only required where the life safety risk warrants it - a common example is where there is a sleeping risk.

If you want detection for property protection (i.e. out of hours) then that's up to you but it's not a legal requirements and again domestic detectors are not adequate, you should have a commercial system that is remotely monitored or dials preprogrammed numbers so there will be a response.

A small shop may not even need an electrical fire alarm system is small enough for a shout of fire or a hand bell/whistle/air horn sounding to be clearly and quickly heard throughout the premises.

Your Fire Risk Assessment should decide your requirements and a specialist fire alarm company (as oppose to a general electrician who may put the wrong equipment in) can also advise.