A county renowned for its dense network of knowledge-intensive businesses and skilled workers, Oxfordshire’s significant R&D presence is a key supporter in its potential as a ‘world-class innovation ecosystem’. As a county producing some of the highest numbers of spinout companies in the UK, lab and office space in the city centre – and right across Oxfordshire – is in high demand.
It has now been two years since Oxford Brookes University – one of the top 10 higher education institutions in the South East of England* – opened the doors of its new Enterprise Centre, offering innovative companies access to lab and office spaces, experts and professional networks.
With a key focus on health and life sciences, as well as the digital technologies sector – just some of the areas in which Oxfordshire has been identified as a truly world-class presence – the Oxford Brookes Enterprise Centre provides premises for spinout and early-stage companies with laboratory space, co-working space, offices, meeting rooms and multi-purpose enterprise space.
The project – with a total cost of £2.1m – was supported by the government’s Local Growth Fund, a stream of investment which aims to allow LEPs to use their local knowledge to promote growth in their individual regions, with £837,000 of funding secured through the fund by OxLEP.
Based at the University’s Headington campus, the project set out to support the creation of at least 17 start-up companies and 74 jobs, advancing the growth of small and medium businesses by providing them with an inspiring, relaxed, and friendly co-working space.
The aim of this was – in turn – to facilitate the cultivation of ideas, develop meaningful relationships with Brookes academics, investors and other key stakeholders, and support local business growth.
In the two years since opening, the Enterprise Centre has been well on track to meet – or exceed – all of its targets at pace. To date the centre has supported 12 new business start-ups, with 57 new employees added.
Over the first financial year, the Enterprise Centre saw four resident businesses receive significant external investment – with a total of £3.47 million from venture capital funding rounds and to date the companies have secured grants of over £5 million.
Sun Bear Biofuture joined the Enterprise Centre in September 2022. They are working on a synthetic alternative to palm oil with sustainability and low carbon at the heart of their mission. The team had their first funding raise in 2023, and have secured a number of Innovate UK grants, as well as pursuing a range of different opportunities presented through being based at the heart of a university campus.
Ben Wilding, CEO of Sun Bear Biofuture reflects on the value of being based at the Enterprise Centre and neighbouring BioInnovation Hub:
‘Being based at the Enterprise Centre and BioInnovation Hub has allowed us fantastic access to the wider network of the university and plugged us straight into a community of start-ups and relevant academic researchers.
‘This has led to collaborations with other sections of Oxford Brookes University - we have worked with the Business School and its students are doing consultancy projects for us. We have guest-lectured in the Life Sciences department, used specialist equipment and recruited students.
‘The Centre for Nutrition and Health are working with us on a sensory testing of our new oil, which could act as a replacement for palm oil – this has been kindly been supported by a Regional Innovation Fund grant.
‘Furthermore, we have received another grant, directly from Oxford Brookes University, to carry out research in partnership with two Brookes academics into consumer responses to ecolabels, which we are now in the process of writing up. The flexibility and support offered by the Enterprise Centre and BioInnovation Hub have aided in our rapid R&D progress and helped us in winning Innovate UK grants and scaling our team and capabilities quickly.
‘The ecosystem provided by the Enterprise Centre and BioInnovation Hub has been invaluable in our first 18 months, and we look forward to developing the relationship further.’
With a combination of existing business growth and new business the facility has reached capacity in terms of dedicated office provision. This means changes have been made to the Enterprise Centre to support businesses that need more space for new staff.
Looking to the future, it is anticipated that the recent co-location of the Brookes Enterprise Support service within the Enterprise Centre, together with the appointment of three new dedicated Start-Up Business Manager/Advisor roles within that team, will further strengthen the facility to enable the creation of new businesses, and the growth of existing ones.
The Enterprise Centre works to bring together research staff at the University and established research networks, promoting opportunities for collaboration.
In addition, there is the option for companies located in the Enterprise Centre to tap into the Brookes talent pool of students and graduates to provide additional support to their businesses and enable our students to develop their employability skills.
Dr. Philip Clegg (Associate Director for Enterprise at Oxford Brookes), commented, ‘It’s been terrific to see the Enterprise Centre go from strength to strength since we officially opened in 2022. I am delighted to see the Centre now operating at full capacity and grateful for the funding support from OxLEP which has enabled this project to be fully realised.
Professor Simonetta Manfredi (Director of Research, Innovation and Enterprise at Oxford Brookes) added that, ‘The EC has become an important landmark in the local innovation ecosystem to nurture talent and new companies that will contribute to societal benefits and to economic growth.’
Since 2014, OxLEP has secured over £107.5m of investment to transform Oxfordshire businesses and communities through the government’s Local Growth Fund.
Three rounds of funding have supported 30 projects that are enhancing the lives and skills of people in the county, enriching places, sparking enterprise and boosting connectivity in Oxfordshire.
By 2030, all Local Growth Fund projects will have collectively led to the creation of 9,700 new jobs, helped the development of 1,800 new homes and enabled at least another £850m of funding.
Since its launch in 2011, OxLEP – with its partners – have secured around £1bn-worth of investment for the Oxfordshire economy, supporting the creation of around 65,000 new jobs between 2011 and 2019 – representing over two-thirds of a 2031 target of 85,600 new jobs.
In total, OxLEP currently oversees a £3.3bn growth programme for the county.
Find out more on OxLEP's Local Growth Fund Projects
*The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
