“Norwich Research Park’s potential reaches far beyond the lab. It is a vital growth engine for the Norfolk economy, creating high quality jobs, supporting a dynamic supply chain and drawing in new businesses and talent,” That’s the view of Ben Goldsborough, MP for South Norfolk but what is it that makes him so positive?
With a significantly robust track record of nearly a billion pounds of public funding and strong support from the Government and external investors, Norwich Research Park is nurturing an ecosystem that is delivering discovery science, enterprise activity and business growth across the one campus. This supportive infrastructure and funding landscape has been cultivated by Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management company for Norwich Research Park, to enable investment in four key global market sectors – agri-biotech, food biotech, industrial biotech and medtech.
To maximise the impact of the publicly-funded research conducted across the campus, Anglia Innovation Partnership is working with real estate investors, venture capitalists and philanthropic organisations to boost the growth of the ecosystem.
Norwich Research Park is now in a very strong position to secure its current science and research activity, attract new companies that will deliver growth to the local economy by creating jobs whilst helping to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges such as feeding the world with nutritious food, preventing disease and reducing the environmental impact in the face of climate change.
Working with investors, the ambition is to build a future that not only transforms scientific understanding into real world applications but that also delivers a lasting impact in terms of sustainable jobs, a re-energised sector supply chain and further inward investment, over the longer term.
So, why is this important?
Often, the most effective way to translate the numerous, and often ground-breaking, research discoveries into real-world impacts is by commercialising them. This more often than not requires the setting up of businesses to bring the products or services to market. There are three key factors that make Norwich Research Park a credible location for this to happen.
- It is well placed to attract the investment to support the commercialisation of the research. It receives its public funding for research, primarily from the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), which directly funds three of the Park’s research institutes – the Earlham Institute, the John Innes Centre and the Quadram Institute. These three institutes between them attract around 40% of the BBSRC’s annual strategic funding.
- Having received a public commitment of £317.7m from UKRI (UK Research and Innovation), the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory are jointly developing brand new state-of-the-art facilities, over the next ten years, that will deliver net zero carbon-ready laboratories, new collaboration space and improved access to a wide range of technology platforms.
- A strong pipeline of new start-up and spin-out companies have emerged from the campus-wide enterprise programme that nurtures innovative ideas and supports them to become fully fledged businesses. Anglia Innovation Partnership manages a pre-seed fund for researchers to test their ideas and provides them with access to future funding through introductions to investors such as Sapphire Capital, Deep Tech Seed Fund and Greensphere.
The confidence in Norwich Research Park gained by the commitments from public funding and private investors helps to attract the attention of companies, from across the globe, who are looking for the ideal location to develop and grow.
Being able to offer a wide range of accommodation for growing companies is key to the success of the campus. Last year, a major new investment partnership was established with real estate investment manager, Vengrove, to construct new laboratory and office accommodation for high-growth companies.
Andrew McLean, Partner and Head of Development at Vengrove, said: “With the potential to deliver 75,000 sq. m. of market-leading accommodation, we are looking forward to supporting the brilliant science that takes place at Norwich Research Park by providing facilities that will help the transition from bench to boardroom, playing our part to unlock positive economic and social impact for the regional economy and tackling the big global challenges.”
Another organisation that recognises the need for capital investment is specialist climate and impact investor Greensphere Capital. Its Gaia Sciences Innovation Partnership has raised funds to invest in and scale up businesses emerging from bioscience and environmental science institutes across the UK, including those at Norwich Research Park.
Divya Seshamani, Managing Partner at Greensphere Capital, said, “We are very excited about the huge potential our fund can unlock at science hubs such as Norwich Research Park. We believe the best way to implement scientific breakthroughs in these areas is by setting up companies that can scale up to deliver the solutions. Starting or scaling up a company requires capital that is often not freely available from public sector funds so it is down to specialist investors like us to see the opportunities and to provide the funds needed to take the products to market. Norwich Research Park is definitely going to be a hotbed for our funding and we cannot wait to start using it to make a difference.”
Along with start-ups and spin-outs, Anglia Innovation Partnership is working to develop strategic relationships with large companies. By promoting access to the specialist skills pool and technology platforms, at the research institute, it is creating more opportunities for large scale inward investment. And, these opportunities haven’t gone unnoticed within Government circles.
Ben Goldsborough, MP, added: “Norwich Research Park is one of the UK’s most exciting hubs for science, innovation and enterprise. It’s a place where cutting-edge research is already being translated into real-world solutions – from food security to personalised medicine. For investors, that means a clear and compelling return on investment: not just in financial terms, but in shaping the future of health, agriculture and biotechnology. Norwich Research Park can help define the region’s future –as a thriving ecosystem of innovation, enterprise and opportunity.”
