£500m of investment confirmed for science, tech and innovation economy
Specialist property provider Bruntwood SciTech, founded by Legal & General and Bruntwood to support the growth of the life science and tech sectors, has secured £500m of additional investment.
It has welcomed the UK’s largest local authority pension fund, Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), to the partnership.
GMPF is the first local government pension scheme to make a direct and active investment into a UK-wide science, tech and innovation specialist property platform.
Bruntwood SciTech aims to create a £5bn UK-wide portfolio that can support 2,600 high-growth businesses by 2032.
The £500m of new equity sees GMPF inject £150m, alongside a significant increase in investment from existing shareholders, Legal & General and Bruntwood, through cash and asset transfer.
In Leeds, joining the Bruntwood SciTech portfolio alongside its “home for tech” at Platform next to the railway station, are 14 King Street and West Village.
West Village, in Leeds’ West End, is undergoing redevelopment to turn it into a hub where innovation can thrive and collaborations are stimulated by bringing together start-ups and larger, established businesses.
Due to complete in spring 2024, businesses choosing to move to any of Bruntwood SciTech’s Leeds locations will have the ability to connect with each other and access specialist support to accelerate their growth, including access to talent, finance and new markets.
The new capital will be used to expand and redevelop existing science and technology campuses and city centre innovation hubs, and Bruntwood says additional projects in Leeds are “high priority.”
The investment will deliver additional lab and office space in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Cambridge, across a secured 3.6m sq ft development pipeline.
It will also enable Bruntwood SciTech to enter additional R&D intensive regional cities.
Chris Oglesby
Chris Oglesby, executive chair of Bruntwood SciTech and CEO of Bruntwood, said: “Bruntwood, Legal & General and GMPF are each committed to creating thriving cities, and are deeply rooted in the places in which we invest – with Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech both having invested heavily into the evolution of Leeds’ workspaces, cultural scene and innovation ecosystem over the last two decades to help stimulate growth in the tech and digital sector.
“We are focused on the application of long-term, patient capital to support the UK’s economy, with a particular focus on its regional cities.”
Laura Mason, CEO of Legal & General Capital, said: “This partnership with Greater Manchester Pension Fund is testament to the strength of the platforms we have created and the track record of our investments.
“Bruntwood SciTech is a unique opportunity to invest in, and develop, a significant, patient capital project that is economically viable and socially useful.”
Councillor Gerald Cooney, chair of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, said: “We’re investing from society for society by deploying our capital to benefit the UK’s regional economies for the long-term, helping develop the innovation infrastructure they need in order to scale in world-leading workspaces and supporting them to attract the best, and most highly skilled talent, enter new markets, and be supported in accessing new funds.”
Kate Lawlor, CEO for Bruntwood SciTech, added: “The investment from GMPF demonstrates the strong impact and proposition Bruntwood SciTech has developed, and we are excited to bring in a like-minded third-party investor to support the key priority sectors for the UK in our mission to expand the portfolio further.”
GMPF was selected following a competitive process for new equity funding partners that saw active discussions with UK and global institutional investors.
Bruntwood and Legal & General were advised by Eastdil and GMPF by CBRE. Legal and property advisors were Freshfields, Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds, Mills & Reeve, JLL, Deloitte, Greenberg Traurig (GT Law), Grant Thornton and PWC.
