海角视频

This is the massive impact Bruntwood Sci Tech - the 海角视频's largest property partnership focused on science and tech - has made in its first year.

The partnership brought together property firm Bruntwood with Legal & General Capital - one of the largest institutional investors, with the aim of creating a network of what are known as innovation districts.

Launched last year, both declared an interest in unlocking the growth potential of the 海角视频 regions and in effect, building out from the assets already established by Bruntwood in locations including Manchester, Cheshire, Liverpool and Birmingham - and these locations have all seen major projects advance over the past year.

Phil Kemp, the partnership's CEO, said the major ambition behind it is to add more regional hubs "to create a network of thriving innovation districts across the 海角视频".

The most obvious framework, he said, is cities that already have a strong academic base in science and technology - any one of the 24 research-intensive Russell Group universities in locations including Newcastle, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Mr Kemp added: "One issue we normally find with science facilities is you have got a cluster of buildings usually, but haven't got that grow-on space, so if successful, they are often forced to leave the area they have grown in.

"That means they are then outside of that eco-system.

"But with this idea it means companies at different stages of their life cycles brought together in a structural focus, into something that becomes a virtuous circle if they are close to universities.

"That means they are then hungry to grow, and the whole thing becomes a supportive environment."

Innovation districts are part of a global trend described by the Brookings Institute, a prominent US think tank, as a 鈥渟hift in the geography of innovation鈥�.

These districts have leading-edge anchor institutions and large scale companies which cluster and connect with start-ups through incubators and accelerator programmes.

They are physically compact and easily accessible, highly connected digitally, and offering mixed-use housing, office, and retail.

Globally, innovation districts are forming in cities as diverse as Barcelona, Medellin, and Seoul.

In the 海角视频, Manchester has the most evolved innovation district 鈥� the Oxford Road Corridor, which has been developed over the last decade.聽

Mr Kemp聽describes it as a collaborative process, adding: 鈥淯ltimately, it is not about going into cities and telling them what they want 鈥� we have dialogue to understand the drivers for the city as these will inevitably vary. We then bring the benefit of experience in other places and the ability to invest patient capital.鈥�

When introduced last October, Bruntwood SciTech was called the 海角视频鈥檚 largest property partnership focused on science and technology and, 12 months on, it has made its presence felt in the 海角视频 regions.聽

At the outset of the 50:50 joint venture, the partners invested 拢360m of capital, property and intellectual assets into the new company, with a business plan supporting the creation of 20,000 high value jobs.

These are the regions in which the partnership has made its presence felt:

Cheshire

Next month, for instance, the 400-acre Alderley Park, the internationally-recognised life science campus in Cheshire, gets Glasshouse, a new tech and innovation-focused building. The new 150,000 sq ft development reflects the growing convergence of data and digital technologies with traditional drug discovery, along with Cheshire鈥檚 growing focus on innovation-based businesses.

Manchester

In Manchester, the 1.2m sq ft Circle Square scheme on the site of the former BBC headquarters on Oxford Road has begun to dominate the skyline.

Such has been the interest from occupiers in being part of the new neighbourhood in the heart of the city鈥檚 innovation district, that Bruntwood SciTech has brought forward its plans to develop a third commercial building.

It will be investing around 拢54m in a 220,000 sq ft, 12-storey building, which, subject to planning permission will be on site in early 2020.

So far tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise and KPMG鈥檚 海角视频 海角视频 Solutions and Digital聽tech team have confirmed moves to Circle Square, while a number of leading innovative businesses are said to be close to announcing deals to relocate there.

Liverpool

In Liverpool, Bruntwood SciTech became a partner in Sciontec, the public-private partnership charged with taking forward the city鈥檚 vision for a globally-facing 21st century knowledge-economy.聽

Bruntwood SciTech became the fourth shareholder, acquiring a 25% shareholding in the 拢12m business, alongside Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool.

Midlands

The Midlands has also been in focus,聽with activity to redevelop the Innovation Birmingham campus, which Bruntwood acquired in March 2018. Located on Holt Street, adjacent to both Aston University and Birmingham City University, Innovation Birmingham is already a hub for sci-tech entrepreneurs. It operates around a community of over 170 digital tech start-ups, scale ups and large corporates.

A new building, Enterprise Wharf, went through a public consultation in this summer and is due into planning before Christmas. Subject to approval, Enterprise Wharf will offer 11 floors of 12,000 sq ft floorplates for digital and tech businesses.

Longer term, Bruntwood is one of the partners working with Birmingham City Council and the city鈥檚 universities on a masterplan for an expanded knowledge quarter.

According to Mr Kemp, one of the defining features of an innovation district is public and private stakeholders collaborating to deliver regeneration. He said the model is about building ecosystems, not simply developing real estate.

鈥淎n ecosystem is a combination of everything and it has interdependence, smaller businesses that want close proximity to bigger corporates so that they have people to work for and alongside; large organisations that want to co-locate with the SMEs and start-ups because that鈥檚 sometimes where the fire of innovation burns brightest - and they will outsource," he explained.

"You need spaces that mould everything together 鈥� and an underlying operational and business services platform that takes all of the admin away. These businesses can then focus on what they do best - changing lives, developing lifesaving technologies, shaking up and disrupting. A state of the art innovation district should take away all of the hassle from a real estate perspective.

鈥淭he model is also about having a support function that really can help nurture a business start and scale. There鈥檚 also a question of facilities.

"Life science companies of any size need a lot of investment up front and access to a lot of kit, whereas tech is a little more nimble and can acquire more of what they need as they go along. For any 海角视频 region to be successful in science and tech you have to recognise both.鈥�

The Bruntwood SciTech approach includes the use of various forms of accelerator and mentoring programmes. In Birmingham, the company runs a corporate innovation programme called Serendip that matches start-ups and SMEs with large corporates or public sector organisations to solve innovation-based challenges.

Partners in the Serendip programme include GymShark, National Express, West Midlands Academic Health Science Network and Barclays Eagle Labs.