Regional innovation ecosystems are crucial to ensure university spin-outs are retained and nurtured to play their part in the UK R&D sector, says Dr Kath Mackay, chief scientific officer at developer Bruntwood SciTech.
What are the top three physical infrastructure aspects required to nurture spin-outs?
It’s a convergence of critical physical infrastructure like specialist lab space, scalable grow-on facilities and shared technical set-ups that really helps university spin-outs to thrive. These three enable early-stage R&D, ensure businesses don’t need to relocate as they grow and reduce barriers to entry with shared assets and specialist equipment.
Physical infrastructure is the linchpin for many spin-outs. Take, for example, University of Manchester spin-outs MicroBioSensor, Watercycle Technologies and PharmaKure. All are now based at either Manchester Science Park, Citylabs or Alderley Park, allowing them to grow with access to specialist labs, proximity to clinical collaborators and flexible space to develop and refine their technologies.
Beyond buildings, which ingredients best determine a spin-out’s decision to remain local?
When preparing to spin out an academic venture, one of the biggest considerations is where to locate it to maximise opportunities to grow and scale successfully. Founders actively seek out locations with tight integration between specialist talent, aligned investor networks and clinical and academic partnerships.
For those universities that want to see their spin-outs grow locally, working with developers and public sector partners to nurture these factors and develop more joined-up innovation ecosystems will make staying within the region a more attractive and attainable proposition for founders.
Which smaller UK cities punch above their weight?
While many rightfully look to the Golden Triangle cities of Oxford, Cambridge and London for expertise, talent and investment opportunities in life sciences, some of the UK’s most dynamic, fast-growing and productive innovation ecosystems are increasingly found outside the South East. In Leeds, for instance, the Innovation Arc is fostering deep collaboration between health, tech and academic partners, while Birmingham’s Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) is fast becoming a national hub for translational medicine.
Zooming in even further, you have places like Alderley Park in Cheshire, where earlier this year life sciences and diagnostics firm Revvity opened a 6,000 sq ft lab. We expect the company to partner with healthcare firms already based at the campus including Medicines Discovery Catapult, CellCentric and Globachem Discovery.
Should translational support in terms of incubators, clinical trial pathways and regulatory expertise be based within regional science campuses or remain centralised within university techtransfer offices?
It’s essential that translational support is embedded within regional science campuses as it’s the proximity to incubators, clinical trial infrastructure and regulatory experts that give spin-outs the practical tools they need to bridge the gap from discovery to commercial application. In practice this involves many different organisations, each playing to their own strengths.
For start-ups and spin-outs, getting a foot on the ladder may feel like the biggest obstacle to overcome, but it’s equally important to plan for how you will attract second stage investment
Take, for instance, many of the companies based at BHIC or Manchester Science Park who benefit from co-location with NHS trusts and universities. This kind of proximity is vital to enabling real-time collaboration and faster commercialisation – transforming good research into scalable innovation.
The recent government-commissioned Independent Review of university spinouts made specific recommendations – improved transparency in university terms, national spin-out register, support for shared TTO services. Which will have the largest practical impact?
Of the recommendations made, standardised and sensible equity terms, which foster a culture of innovation and encourage subsequent investment from VCs, will have the largest practical impact. Alongside this, transparency around technology transfer office (TTO) policies and financial incentives will foster trust and incentivise academics to take the plunge.
We work closely with TTOs, such as University of Manchester’s Innovation Factory, which has initiated a review of its IP policies and practices to improve the speed and efficiency of spin-out formation.
It’s a really encouraging example of spin-out and commercial activity which has been recognised by the Knowledge Exchange Framework – an initiative developed by Research England to indicate a university’s ability to translate its research into real-world impact.
Which scalable approaches can attract second-stage investment?
For start-ups and spin-outs, getting a foot on the ladder may feel like the biggest obstacle to overcome, but it’s equally important to plan for how you will attract second stage investment. To me this depends on an ability to demonstrate three things – depth, demand and de-risking.
Practical measures such as quicker and more flexible access to lab benches, temporary equipment packages and plug-and-play regulatory advice make those first steps possible
In 2024, equity investment in spin-outs increased significantly to £2.6 billion thanks to clear market validation and specialist focus. Companies such as Oxford’s Nanopore and Graphcore also show how partnerships with major corporates or clinical anchors help prove scalability and attract larger rounds. Meanwhile, access to follow-on funding mechanisms, such as Innovate UK’s £40 million proof-of-concept fund, play a critical role in helping early stage businesses bridge the gap from growth to commercial maturity.
What support services are most valuable to first-time academic founders?
More than just space, having access to wider support services such as mentoring, investor access and co-location within innovation clusters is essential to success. Tailored mentor schemes such as Bruntwood SciTech’s Female Founders, which works to create equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the tech and innovation space, are particularly important in helping address and close gender gaps in capital access.
Proximity to investment groups is also incredibly valuable. At Circle Square in Manchester, independent investor Northern Gritstone’s co-location with tech businesses and academic partners on the Oxford Road Corridor enables regular interaction, networking opportunities, shared insight and ultimately faster routes to funding.
In a similar vein, co-location alongside NHS clinicians and real-world test environments offers a powerful draw for tech, innovation and science businesses looking to scale in a real-world healthcare setting. It does this by enabling rapid testing, stronger collaboration and clearer commercial pathways from concept through to procurement.
And what practical measures… quicker access to lab benches, temporary equipment packages, or plug-and-play regulatory advice?
In many cases, a first-time founder might have a breakthrough idea but lack the infrastructure or resources to get it off the ground. Practical measures such as quicker and more flexible access to lab benches, temporary equipment packages and plug-and-play regulatory advice make those first steps possible – lowering costs and speeding up experimentation in order to hit critical investment milestones.
It’s one of the reasons Bruntwood SciTech designs its campuses around flexibility, shared resources and access to innovationled businesses from day one. For example, at Alderley Park we have an open access lab offer, where our centrally managed research facilities provide customers access to state of the art equipment in a way that is flexible and cost effective. This includes a Cytiva technology lab which offers the latest in cell and protein analysis tech, as well as a 24/7 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) lab. The latter is of particular note as, typically, companies can only access NMR spectroscopy through academia.
As well as this, founders at Alderley Park have access to structured business support and connections to investors.
Number of spin-outs and follow-on investment aside, what metrics should be used to assess ecosystem health?
Translation and adoption of new innovations, partnerships, revenue generation, job creation and skills development are among the strongest indicators of how healthy an innovation ecosystem is. The latter is ultimately difficult to quantify, but it’s possible to demonstrate the value of learning and development by identifying the connection between critical skills and revenue generation.
One of the biggest considerations is where to locate it to maximise opportunities to grow and scale successfully
In Manchester, the Oxford Road Corridor is home to more than half the city’s life science businesses and generates around £3 billion GVA each year. This year, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, MIDAS, also launched a new life sciences prospectus, showcasing the city region’s position as one of the UK’s most dynamic health innovation ecosystems. IQVIA also completed a major UK Life Sciences infrastructure investment in the Medicines Evaluation Unit in Wythenshawe, Manchester, which will create skilled jobs while increasing patient access to innovative treatments.
This growth underlines how well-connected regional ecosystems can deliver true economic impact, as well as demonstrates the crucial role innovation clusters play in advancing the UK’s ambition to become a global science and technology superpower.
What should a national register capture to be most useful to regions and investors?
The UK already maintains a national register of university spin-outs through HESA, which provides a valuable baseline for tracking commercialisation activity. However, where these regions and investors will benefit most is from a national register that captures consistent data on location, sector specialism, equity structure, funding stage and employment growth. It’s through these additions that we get a clearer picture of where innovation is clustering, how regional ecosystems are performing and where investment gaps remain – this will support evidence-based policy making and identify where support for founders is needed.
