A Manchester-based science parks operator has hailed a “year of strong progress” with increased levels of investment and growth.
For the 12 months to the end of September 2018, Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) saw a 35 per cent increase in its consolidated net worth and its subsidiaries from £58.3m to £78.9m.
The public, private, and academic partnership includes the surrounding area’s councils and universities, and focuses on growing the city’s science and technology sector.
Manchester Science Park, MSP’s city centre campuses and Citylabs offer lab and office space for tech and life science businesses, offering business support and a post-accelerator innovation centre in Mi-IDEA in partnership with Cisco.
Combined, the ‘Oxford Road Corridor’ campuses tripled profits from £4.7m in 2017 to £17.2m as occupancy levels increased and property valuations rose.
The year also saw MSP launch a tech incubator at Manchester Technology Centre, designed for entrepreneurs and SMEs working in data science and tech innovation.
At Alderley Park in Cheshire, profits increased from £7.5m to £19.4m during the year, which also saw the announcement of £10m of investment in the development of new laboratories for smaller life science businesses and significant progress with the development of Glasshouse, which offers over 150,000 sq ft of offices for tech businesses.
The period also saw the creation of the UK’s largest property portfolio dedicated to driving the growth of the science and tech sector.
“Citylabs will be at the heart of a new globally-leading genomics and precision medicine campus which will create over 1,500 high value jobs and add over £150m to the Greater Manchester economy, and importantly benefit the 2.8 million people living here as new tests and treatments emerge,” said Tom Renn, Managing Director, MSP.
“Against a backdrop of significant uncertainty in the wider economy, in particular for those working in the science sector, we are heartened by the extraordinary resilience of our customers and of the science community in the UK, who have continued to successfully raise investment and grow their businesses at pace both within our portfolio and across Greater Manchester.”
MSP now plans for the Manchester Science Park campus to begin with additional development as part of plans to grow to 1million sq. ft., progress with the construction of Citylabs 2.0 and Glasshouse and new laboratories completed at Alderley Park.