Manchester Science Partnerships announces record financial results
Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) has enjoyed a record year.
Against a backdrop of technological change and uncertainty in the wider economy, the 12 months to the end of September 2018, saw a 35% increase in the consolidated net worth of MSP and its subsidiaries, from £58.3m to £78.9m.
MSP’s city centre campuses – Manchester Science Park and Citylabs – which are in the heart of Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district, offer lab and office space for digital tech and life science businesses together with specialist programmes of business support, including a post-accelerator innovation centre, Mi-IDEA, in partnership with Cisco.
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 technology innovation.
At Alderley Park, 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 being made with the development of Glasshouse, offering more than 150,000 sq ft of offices for tech and forward-thinking, innovative businesses.
The period also saw the creation of Bruntwood SciTech – the UK’s largest property portfolio dedicated to driving the growth of the science and technology sector – in a landmark equity deal between MSP majority shareholder Bruntwood and Legal & General.
Bruntwood SciTech announced pre-tax profits of £53m, together with shareholders’ funds of £234m.
Bruntwood SciTech has plans to grow the value of its portfolio from more than £330m to in excess of £2bn in the next 10 years.
Tom Renn, managing director, MSP, said: “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.
“Construction of Citylabs 2.0 for QIAGEN, a world-leading international molecular diagnostics company who have taken a 100% pre-let, is a hallmark of that success and reinforces the quality of the Greater Manchester offer, partnerships and assets.
“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.”
