Sector News
£4.6 billion in new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs
Chancellor announces one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring£594 million discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businessescomes in addition...
Science Minister at the Universities UK Research and Innovation Conference
At an online event, Amanda Solloway (10/12/20) spoke about the government’s ambition for research and innovation, and progress on developing the R&D Places Strategy. She said: Thank you for that welcome, and for inviting me to join you all today. Well – what a...
Further investment secured for The Birmingham Health Innovation Campus
A bid to develop a £210m life sciences campus in Birmingham, which could create 10,000 jobs, has received a new boost. The Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) project has received up to £14m from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership...
UK medicine manufacturing to receive funding boost
Funding of £20m will be provided to improve medicine supply chains in the UK and help to create thousands of new jobs. The money, which is being distributed as part of the Government’s new capital investment fund,...
Axa IM acquires life sciences real estate developer Kadans
The real assets arm of Axa Investment Managers is to enter the European life sciences sector following the acquisition of Kadans Science Partner – a real estate business specialising in the science world. Axa IM has agreed to buy Kadans from Oaktree Capital Partner on...
How groundbreaking testing project has helped flatten covid curve in Norwich
The team behind the UEA Covid testing initiative. From third left, Professor Neil Hall, Earlham Institute; Dr Nick Goodwin, Anglia Innovation Partnership; Dr Kirsty Culley, Anglia Innovation Partnership; and Mark Hitchcock, UEA Health & Social Care Partners; with...
Survey reveals impact of the pandemic on future growth plans, but says more than two thirds of start-ups in Yorkshire remain confident about the next 12 months
A new survey reveals the impact of the pandemic on future growth plans for Yorkshire businesses, but shows that more than two thirds of start-ups in the region remain confident about the next 12 months. Commissioned by Nexus, the innovation hub at the University of...
Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre expands team With 50 new jobs to focus on COVID-19 response and 2021 operational readiness
The Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), a not-for-profit organisation providing the UK’s first strategic vaccine development and advanced manufacturing capability, has appointed 50 people into new roles - growing the VMIC team from 10 to 60, since May...
UKSPA Chairman Dr Glenn Crocker MBE on how science and innovation is central to future economic rebuilding…
My last article was when the science and innovation sector – and the country – had just begun to enter the first lockdown. Back in the spring, UKSPA held a very well supported conference at the University of Leeds. The following week the Budget announcement was...
Scots life science sector raises £600m-plus in three years
More than £600 million has been raised for Scottish-headquartered life science companies in the past three years, according to data recently revealed Scotland is an emerging centre of excellence in the UK, with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen offering “pockets of...
UKRI invests £88 million in world-class science laboratories
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is investing £88 million to modernise research laboratories and expand our world-leading facilities to equip scientists working on research challenges such as climate change and COVID-19. The funding will: support pioneering science...
Investment surges into UK startups meeting UN sustainable development goals
UK” impact startups” – startups addressing one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – have raised €1.4 billion in 2020 – so far. The biggest rounds for UK impact startups in 2020 include Tokamak Energy (Abingdon), Octopus...
New Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre facility to open in Renfrewshire
A new £13m medicines manufacturing innovation centre, which will harness an array of new process automation technologies, is set to open in Renfrewshire. The ‘world-leading’ facility, led by the North-East England based Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), will add to...
Aviva Investors reveals £10bn infrastructure and real estate drive
Aviva Investors is targeting £10bn of UK infrastructure and real estate projects over the next three years. Citing the UK’s current funding shortfall in meeting infrastructure needs, the group said that the £10bn of capital will support the development of UK real...
Is Sci/Tech the future?
Over the last six months whilst landlords of retail units and shopping centres have been looking to support a struggling sector, landlords in the science and technology sector have seen an increase in demand for space and accelerated growth. Previously seen as a niche...