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Harwell Campus gets major funding boost as Brookfield Asset Management acquires 50% stake

09:46 08 April in Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing, Digital Technology, News, Oxfordshire, Talent and Innovation by Mia Champion

One of the world’s largest property groups and asset managers, Brookfield Asset Management, has acquired the private sector half shareholding in the Harwell Campus joint venture which manages and develops the campus.

The acquisition, which comes at a critical time for the UK economy and property market, with many deals being put on hold due to COVID-19, will accelerate the expansion of Harwell’s unique real estate portfolio. Ultimately, this will fast track the delivery of a five million sq ft masterplan and consolidate Harwell as one of the fastest growing sites dedicated to science and technology in the UK.

“Having Brookfield within the joint venture will accelerate the expansion and development of the Campus. Our shared ambitions are to make Harwell an even more powerful world-leading site for science and technology – supercharging the UK’s knowledge economy and ultimately growing UK plc.”

Angus Horner, Partner and Director, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus

 

As investment in UK tech firms grew by 44% in 2019, taking it to £10.1 billion and placing the UK third in the world behind the US and China, demand for science and tech real estate also increased. The latest 400,000 sq ft of development is underway, due to be delivered by the end of 2021, and with a total of 1.5million sq ft to be developed by the mid-2020s, the campus will continue to expand its roster of national and international companies looking to grow at pace and scale across its multiple clusters including Life Sciences, Space and Energy.

“The Harwell Campus joint venture represents a powerful collaboration between the private and public sector, and is helping bring together industry, academia and world leading research facilities to speed up the process of innovation. Harwell has benefited from substantial and long-standing investments by HM Government which result in the world leading science and innovation capabilities today. There is huge potential for building on the current activities and heritage, and we are looking forward to working with Brookfield in this task.”

Dr Tim Bestwick, Chief Technology Officer, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

 

“It’s great to hear about Brookfield acquiring the private shareholding of the Campus, especially during these unprecedented times. It’s a great sign of confidence, not just in Harwell but in the region and a testament to the strength of the science and tech community in the area.”

Paul Britton, CEO, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce

 

Read more, HERE.