News
September 2002
Shake-up for science promises huge boost in spending
The government has released further details of its plans to boost spending on science, following the announcement of $19.5 billion in extra resources for academic research and science teaching in chancellor Gordon Brown’s 2002 Spending Review. The overall aim of the strategy is to improve the performance of UK science internationally and to boost the role of innovation in the economy. Specific targets include encouraging more young people to study science and more rapid knowledge transfer from universities into industry through patents and spin-off companies.
Every government department will have a chief scientist with direct access to the secretary of state, and each will have to produce an accurately costed budget for science and innovation, which it will be expected to at least maintain in real terms. Two departments will be at the heart of science policy: education and skills and the Department of Trade and Industry, which includes the Office of Science and Technology. These two will increase their spending on science by 10 per cent a year in real terms over the next three years.
"The commitment to science goes right across the government," said science minister Lord Sainsbury. "It involves spending more on science in schools and universities, promoting innovation through the Department of Trade and Industry, and raising standards of research in other departments…. Universities will at last be able to plan ahead, knowing that their research activities will be properly funded."
Prime Minister Tony Blair set the tone by officially opening two new research facilities in Cumbria, North West England - Fleswick Court at Westlakes Science Park and a new R&D centre for UBC Films at Wigton. UBC Films is part of Belgian pharmaceuticals and chemicals company UBC Group, which has 8,000 employees and is one of Belgium’s largest companies. It produces speciality and high-performance films for selected markets, in particular biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cellulose films. The new centre, built at a cost of around $9 million, will be equipped with the latest material science, chemical and physical facilities and will accommodate 100 staff.
In the North East, a new Science and Industry Council has been set up to promote the region internationally as a base for scientific research and enterprise. The 15-strong panel, which includes leading industrialists and university chancellors from across the region, is headed by Sir Ian Gibson, former president of Nissan Europe. It will be charged with setting up five new Centres of Excellence and a new company to encourage the commercial application of university research.
The Centres of Excellence will be attached to university campuses across the North East and will specialise in the cutting-edge fields of digital technology and media, life sciences, new and renewable energy, process industries and nanotechnology. The company, NorthSTAR (North Science and Technology Application Resource) will link up with universities and key companies in a bid to attract new investment and create new jobs. It will help to identify commercial possibilities and will handle funding, patents and other intellectual property issues.
Computer grid boosts scientific processing power
Researchers at the National e-Science Centre in Edinburgh in Scotland have unveiled new technology that will allow computer users to link their machines to form a grid capable of processing the huge amounts of data involved in academic and scientific research. The new technological standard - known as the data access and integration program - is likely to form the basis of the next stage of development of the internet.
The program works on the same principles as the internet by forming a grid of linked computers and pooling their processing power. In effect, it uses thousands of small computers to create a ‘super-computer’ - a much more cost-effective route than institutions independently investing in multi-million-dollar hardware systems. The grid’s collective capacity will be used to tackle advanced areas of research such as global climate modelling, medical research and Big Bang physics, all of which require vast amounts of data crunching. In time it is expected to be made commercially available.
In a more immediate context, the DTI Broadband Fund and the South West Regional Development Agency is helping a South West-based organisation promote the benefits of broadband connectivity to small and medium-sized businesses in the area. The Bristol Interactive Cluster (BRIC), a not-for-profit organisation representing 45 companies in the digital media, TV and creative industries, will begin a series of roadshows - called the broadbandshow - across the region in the late autumn. Targeting aerospace and tourism companies in particular, it will aim to show small businesses how broadband applications can transform their operations and give them access to new markets.
New role defined for English Partnerships
The government has completed its review of regeneration agency English Partnerships, outlining its new role as a key delivery agency in its ‘living communities’ initiative to regenerate selected towns, cities and rural areas. Initially 40 sites around the country have been earmarked for regeneration, and others will be added to the list in due course.
Among the agency’s responsibilities are identifying and acquiring sites for regeneration and sustainable development, and developing a national brownfield strategy, which will incorporate best-practice guidance on development of land and buildings, including government surplus property. English Partnerships will also co-ordinate plans for key worker and affordable housing, working with the Housing Corporation and with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), and will provide ‘gap’ funding to enable developers to deliver housing projects that would otherwise be commercially unviable.
The agency operates a number of programmes, including the National Coalfields Programme, Millennium Communities, Urban Regeneration Companies, the English Cities Fund, the National Land Use Database and the Priority Sites programme. It manages a substantial portfolio of properties with the potential for development, details of which can be found at: www.englishsites.com.
London’s office towers reach for the skies
Availability of office space in central London grew by 6 per cent in the second quarter of 2002, to stand at 18.4 million sq ft or 9.1 per cent of stock, according to DTZ Research. The amount of newly available space was down on the first quarter, from 6.4 million sq ft to 4.6 million sq ft. Only 17 per cent of available space was newly built or refurbished accommodation.
DTZ expected to see the amount of space on the market continue to increase over the coming months, as surplus tenant accommodation is released. There is 16.3 million sq ft of office space currently under construction in central London, 40 per cent of which is speculative and due for completion by the end of 2005. Take-up recovered somewhat in the second quarter, with a 20 per cent increase over the first to reach 4.3 million sq ft. Most of this was in the West End. However, active requirements have tailed off, suggesting that demand over the next few months is likely to slow. Prime headline rents remained steady over the period, at $90 per sq ft in the City and $108.75 per sq ft in the West End.
There could soon be a lot more space available as plans progress for a cluster of new high-rise buildings in the City of London financial area. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has finally granted approval for the 37-storey, 680,000 sq ft Heron Tower in Bishopsgate EC2, after a three-year planning inquiry. The 600ft tower, designed by KPF, should be completed within 40 months and will have an end value of $675 million, say the developers.
Approval has also been given for a 25-storey office tower on the site of the Old Lloyd’s Building in Lime Street. The building will consist of a single building on four levels, rising from six to 25 storeys and will accommodate 726,000 sq ft of space. The new buildings will join the 590ft, 40-storey tower currently under construction for insurance firm Swiss Re at St, Mary Axe, EC3. Other schemes on the drawing board include another 656ft tower on Bishopsgate; a 43-storey, 1 million sq ft building in St. Botolph’s Street EC3; and a 45-storey, 800,000 sq ft building at 122 Leadenhall Street EC3.
Development schemes offer countrywide variety
There is plenty of development activity - albeit on a less grandiose scale - going on elsewhere in the country. In South East England, for example, developer Kier Property has acquired a 13-acre site at Frimley in Surrey, on which it plans to build 350,000 sq ft of offices. The Lion Way site, near the M3 motorway, will be developed in two phases, with completion set for 2005-06. Also in the M3 corridor, international pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has bought a long lease on 126,000 sq ft of space in Norfolk House, in Basingstoke, with 2.5 acres earmarked for further expansion. The building is the former head office of motoring organisation the Automobile Association, which will lease back 43,000 sq ft of the space for three years.
The University of Essex is to build a 40-acre research park on its Wivenhoe Campus in Colchester, Eastern England, in partnership with developer Carisbrooke Alliance. The scheme, to be known as the Carisbrooke-Essex Partnership, will see a 600,000 sq ft complex containing offices, laboratories and workshops take shape over the next ten years.
In Plymouth, South West England, a derelict former hospital site is to be transformed into a business complex with the aid of $2.4 million in funding from the South West Regional Development Agency and other partners. The six-acre Scott Hospital site will house more than 43,000 sq ft of office and industrial space and will also feature a Healthy Living Centre for the local community.
Nottingham, in the East Midlands, is set to get the region’s biggest urban business park, with the creation of a 900,000 sq ft scheme by developer Miller Birch. The 31-acre site, which includes a former BAe Systems’ munitions plant, will house 755,000 sq ft of office space and a 54,000 sq ft health and fitness centre. It is located on Queen’s Drive, which links the city centre with the M1 motorway, and will incorporate the second phase of Nottingham’s light rail scheme. International credit report company Experian is believed to be interested in establishing a new HQ on the site, in what could be one of the region’s largest ever prelet deals.
In Yorkshire and Humber, a 100-acre business park is taking shape next door to Sheffield City Airport. The Sheffield Airport Business Park, situated off junction 33 of the M1, already has planning permission for 400,000 sq ft of business space, with a further 300,000 sq ft pending. In all, around 1 million sq ft of office and industrial space will be developed on the site over the next five years.
In nearby Rotherham, business has been brisk at The Point, the latest development at Bradmarsh Business Park at Templeborough, near Junction 34 of the M1. Six companies have completed lease or sale agreements even before the official groundbreaking ceremony. Product design specialist AME and Sheffield-based Mortgage Bureau are among the companies locating to the park. Prices for the remaining units range from $204,000 for a 1,154 sq ft space to $712,500 for a 4,131 sq ft building. Rentals start at $16,500 for a 961 sq ft unit.
Digging in: Mortgage Bureau's Richard Nutbrown, left, and AME's Paul Howell join Rotherham's Mayor, Cllr Aubrey Senior, and Bournston's Hugh Dibley, at the £5m Bradmarsh Business Park groundbreaking at Templeborough, Rotherham.
Countrywide, the availability of new industrial space rose by almost 50 per cent in the year to April 2002 to top 15 million sq ft, according to a survey by property consultant King Sturge. The total availability of industrial space rose by 15.4 per cent, to just over 180 million sq ft.
North West outlines ambitious schemes
In North West England a number of development schemes are on the drawing board or already under way. In Liverpool, a massive development at Princes Dock has been given the go-ahead. Mersey Docks and Harbour Co plans to build 1 million sq ft of offices, three hotels, 270 apartments and 52,000 sq ft of leisure and retail space on a 36-acre site to the north of the city’s Pier Head. Outline planning consent has also been granted for the second phase of development at Daresbury Park in Cheshire, which will see 1.6 million sq ft of office space built on a 99-acre site next to junction 11 of the M56 motorway. The developers have already submitted plans for phases three and four of the business park.
The North West Development Agency (NWDA) has acquired 89 acres of land by compulsory purchase order at Monsall in North Manchester, on a site that will form part of a 395-acre development at North Manchester Business Park. This is the first major compulsory purchase by an RDA, although NWDA has since issued a bigger order for 420 acres of land to form Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale. An inquiry into this scheme will begin early next year.
In Bolton, public/private partnership Bolton WIDE is promoting the development of a number of sites on the M61 corridor west of the city. The sites have been selected as suitable for industrial and commercial development and all have good access to the motorway network and rail and air links. In total, they incorporate 200 acres of land with the potential for 4 million sq ft of new floor space. Around $16 million of European funding is available to help companies locating to the sites, together with Regional Selective Assistance grants from the UK government and funding from the NWDA. One recent arrival there is the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has chosen the Parklands site for its main retail account management centre for the North West.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has chosen west Bolton's Parklands site for its main Retail Account Management Centre for the North West.
A new business centre aimed at small and medium-sized businesses has opened at Lillyhall Business Park in Workington, Cumbria. The centre, built by the NWDA at a cost of $3.5 million, is intended to serve tenants at the business park, where 20 of the 36 units are already let or under offer. It provides fully fitted conference and meeting rooms, which can be hired by the hour or by the day, together with a range of support services including typing, photocopying and desktop publishing.
Peterborough shows the way
There are also numerous schemes under way in Peterborough, a town in Eastern England that is something of an investment hotspot. Work has started on two speculative office schemes at Peterborough Business Park. The first, labelled Equinox, will offer 12 detached and semi-detached units in a courtyard development. The detached units will each provide 2,293 sq ft of carpeted office space and will be offered for sale at $488,000 plus VAT. The semi-detached units will have 1,608 sq ft of space and will cost $360,000 plus VAT. The second development will involve seven larger units, ranging in size from 3,700 sq ft to 5,500 sq ft. These will be available to rent at $22 per sq ft.
Another office scheme - Lysander Court, near the city centre and the railway station - will offer three new units in landscaped grounds, ranging in size from 4,000 sq ft to 17,500 sq ft. Construction of a new junction on the Fletton Parkway to the south of the town has opened up a major new source of development land. Built to provide access to a distribution centre for furniture retailer IKEA, the road also gives access to 100 acres of land with outline planning consent for employment uses. The site has direct access to the A1(M) motorway.
The Greater Peterborough Investment Agency (GPIA) is planning to build a 30,000-40,000 sq ft business centre to attract innovative hi-tech businesses to the area. It wants to build a facility that would accommodate between 60 and 70 small companies in units ranging in size from 250 sq ft to 1,700 sq ft, with shared access to meeting rooms, a restaurant and reception, post and photocopying services. The innovation centre would target companies from three key, and already well-established sectors in the area: environmental technology, engineering and consultancy. A detailed study to assess demand is currently being carried out.
There is also plenty of new investment coming into Peterborough. White goods manufacturer General Domestic Appliances, for example, recently opened a new $30 million production line for its Hotpoint products. The company is jointly owned by Merloni Elettrodomestici of Italy and the General Electric corporation of the US. Austrian-owned research company AVL UK has set up a $2.4 million test centre for its automotive engineering products at the town’s Orton Southgate centre. And insurance company Churchill has taken 40,000 sq ft of space in Worldwide House in Thorpe Park, where it will set up a new call centre for its general insurance business.
Telford unveils strategic regeneration package
Another investment hotspot, Telford in the West Midlands, has announced a new package, backed with $15 million of European Regional Development funding, aimed at boosting investment in the area. The Telford Strategic Regeneration Package will support 13 projects and is designed to run until 2007. It will be backed by a further $3 million in funding over the next two years from RDA Advantage West Midlands.
One initiative is the Polymer Cluster, an initiative to attract investment in the plastics, polymers and rubber sectors, all of which are already significant employers in Telford. Other projects on the list include incubator units for hi-tech start-up businesses at Delta Research Park; the Coalbrookdale Interactive Technology Centre, a centre of excellence in design and technology; expansion of the town’s International Centre; and Telford Broadband, which will provide fast internet access for businesses and educational centres. Telford’s infrastructure links and its tourism and leisure industries will also benefit from the package.
Meanwhile an annual survey by Telford Development Agency and other local bodies highlights working conditions and pay at companies in the borough. The survey focused on three specific sectors - manufacturing, service and retail - and examined conditions for senior managers right down to unskilled workers. Among its findings were the facts that pay awards across the whole local economy averaged 2.5-3 per cent over the year; the service sector saw the highest pay awards, and also provided greater benefits than manufacturing and retail; and senior management in manufacturing received the best pay of the three sectors.
Around the regions
Rand Technology, a leading international supplier of electronic components based in Irvine, California, has opened a new European headquarters in Caerphilly, South Wales. The new base will enhance both Rand’s contacts with customers and its access to quality electronic parts. It will serve clients in the UK and Europe, as well as Rand operations in France, Scandinavia and Hungary.
US investment bank Chanin Capital Partners, based in Los Angeles, has opened its first international office in central London. The new office will serve as a European base and will help strengthen Chanin’s transatlantic restructuring and cross-border merger and acquisition services.
Austrian industrial group Frantschach AG has acquired Wheatley Packaging, based in Scunthorpe, Yorkshire and Humber, for an undisclosed sum. Wheatley Packaging produces packaging for the frozen foods and hygiene products industry, with well-known names such as Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Sainsbury’s among its clients. It employs 140 people at its Foxhills Industrial Estate site and has an annual turnover of more than $24 million. Frantschach is a world leader in products such as industrial sacks and sack-kraft papers, with 58 production sites in 29 countries worldwide.
Vocollect, a US company based in Pittsburgh, has opened a sales and support operation in Uxbridge, South East England to service Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market. The company specialises in voice-directed distribution systems and ‘wearable’ computers, using speech synthesis and speech recognition technology for warehousing and industrial applications.
Computer company Egenera, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, has opened a European office in London. The company integrates computer hardware, software, networking and services into data centre systems for large corporations. Also coming to London is VoiceGenie technologies, based in Toronto, a leader in VoiceXML gateway solutions that enable telecommunications companies to deliver voice-enabled internet and data services. Its VoiceXML gateway allows any telephone to access voice-web applications.
Air Wales has taken over the route from Plymouth in South West England to Cork in Ireland, after British Airways withdrew its service. The airline will initially operate 19-seater aircraft on the route but will introduce two 50-seater planes later this year if demand is sufficient. Return fares will start from around $150.
Ferry operator Norfolkline is to boost the capacity of its Dover-Dunkirk route by 50 per cent with the addition of a third vessel. The Dawn Merchant will join its sister ships Northern Merchant and Midnight Merchant from September 30, increasing the frequency of return sailings from seven to 10 a day. Norfolkline is the newest cross-Channel passenger operator, having launched its services in 2000.
ODE and Aker Kvaerner, two major international companies with years of experience in the UK’s offshore oil and gas industries, are to form an alliance to service the southern sector of the North Sea oil and gas fields. The venture, to be based in Great Yarmouth, Eastern England, will undertake high-level specialist studies, contracts and projects for the local gas market. The combined group will provide support for technical and economic studies, as well as detailed design, procurement, logistics and project management services.
Siemens Power Generation, a subsidiary of the Munich-based multinational involved in the design and construction of power plants, is to acquire software supplier ICIS Technology, based in Harrogate in Yorkshire and Humber. ICIS supplies software to more than 90 per cent of the power generating companies in the UK and, in anticipation of new energy trading arrangements, has developed a suite of products for energy volume trading and plant scheduling.
Chicago-based SIRVA, a global provider of relocation, logistics and related financial services, has acquired UK firm Rowan Simmons of London. Rowan Simmons provides a broad range of relocation services for corporations, helping employees with the sale and purchase of homes, employment advice for spouses and partners, visa and work paper administration and education.
Swiss company Gurit-Heberlein, which provides synthetic materials to the healthcare, winter sports and aviation industries, is to buy the Structural Polymer group, based on the Isle of Wight off the South Coast of England, for around $118 million. The deal will make Gurit-Heberlein one of the top three providers of advanced composite materials in the world.
Aalberts Industries of the Netherlands has bought the Yorkshire Fittings division of IMI, based in Birmingham in the West Midlands. IMI has two main areas of operation - fluid controls and retail dispensing - and supplies customers worldwide. Aalberts claims that the acquisition, which will see the current Yorkshire fittings management team remain in place, makes it the biggest supplier in Europe of fittings for water, gas, heating and cooling.
Another Dutch company, Koninklijke Wessanen, a producer of natural, ethnic and diet foods, is to buy Kallo Foods, of Wormley, South East England. Kallo is a brand leader in the UK for a number of organic products, such as rice cakes and breadsticks.
Philadelphia-based Liquent Inc, which specialises in electronic publishing and regulatory and intellectual property information for the life sciences industry, has opened a ‘centre of excellence’ at its offices in Bagshot, South East England. The publishing facility has been set up for the local team of the company’s outsourcing business, CoreDossier Direct. At the same time, a new Strategic Partnerships group has been set up to explore rapidly expanding partnership opportunities in Europe.