Chancellor opens a new University of Manchester facility involving Manchester Science Park Ltd

Tuesday 11th January, 2005

January 7th 2005

Chancellor opens a new University of Manchester facility involving Manchester Science Park Ltd.

On 7th January Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown opened the new North Campus Incubator Unit.

“What a pleasure it is to be in Manchester to see the huge changes taking place in this great city that led the Industrial Revolution and is now leading the knowledge revolution of the 21st Century,” he said.

The Chancellor added that the university would be a future world leader and the city and region would become one of the most prosperous in Europe.

The Incubator unit is to create new incubation space to be used to accommodate spin-out companies established by the University of Manchester and Manchester Science Enterprise Centre. Staff and students will have access to an ideal facility making it much easier for them to develop and progress ideas and innovation into new companies. The proximity of the new incubator units to the campus will enable them to maintain their collaboration with other staff on multi-disciplinary research. High level incubation management support will be provided by the University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC). MSP will provide expert support in the management of the incubator facilities and networking incubator tenants with their MSP resident counterparts.

However, it is not only University of Manchester and Manchester Science Enterprise Centre spin-out companies that will be incubated here. In addition it will actively seek other occupiers for the incubator which will include high technology start-up companies from across the North West region that would benefit from close proximity to the research laboratories and knowledge base, and from the services offered by UMIC and the Manchester Science Park.

This £1m scheme involved refurbishment of three railway arches in order to provide 460 sq.m. of incubation space within the campus. Since October 2004 the arches has been able to accept incubator companies. Services will include:-

• Comprehensive and intensive package of business support
• On site services and support from MSP, Small Business Service and UMIC.
• Close proximity of modern fully serviced research laboratories
• Use of University library, computing services and catering and leisure facilities

The project which is funded by the North West Development Agency will support the regional cluster development programme by enhancing the survival and growth rates of early stage, high growth potential, knowledge-based businesses.

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