A Nottingham-based researcher of new medicines have applied for grant funding which could help to increase their current workforce by up to 30%.
Sygnature Discovery, based at Biocity Nottingham, provides research and expertise into new medicines and are the UK’s number one provider of this service. The Nottingham firm recently applied for a grant from the N2 Growth Fund – set up to help businesses in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire area with investment in capital projects and research & development and new technologies which lead to business growth and the creation of new jobs. Sygnature successfully applied for a grant of £190,000 from this fund, which it will use to purchase new pieces of analytical equipment and increase its current workforce by a third.
Another part of Sygnature’s future plans include occupying 60% (30,000 sq.ft.) of a new 50,000 sq. ft. extension (artist’s impression, pictured), which is set to open in early 2017. The brand new, five-storey, state-of-the-art facility is an expansion of the highly successful BioCity Nottingham complex, and will be operated by BioCity Group Ltd. Nottingham City Council successfully applied to D2N2 – the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire – for £6.5m from its Local Growth Fund towards the overall costs of the scheme, with the remaining costs funded by the council.
D2N2 works across its area, with businesses, local councils, skills and training providers and community and voluntary organisations to grow the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire economy, with the aim of creating 55,000 new jobs in ten years (2013-2023) across its eight key sectors – one of which is life sciences. As part of this mission, D2N2 receives a portion of Local Growth Funding (LGF), which can be used for projects in its area which will help create jobs, boost the economy and attract external investment. D2N2 has an LGF allocation of £192million, and this has been used across a number of projects in its area, including the Biocity Nottingham extension and the University Centre at Vision West Nottinghamshire College in Nottinghamshire, and the Seymour Link Road and Chesterfield Centre for Higher Level Skills in Derbyshire.
Commenting on the Biocity extension, David Ralph, Chief Executive for the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Nottingham has seen a boom in the life sciences sector over the last decade and it now needs room to develop further.
“The D2N2 LEP is committed to aiding the growth of its eight key economic sectors, including life sciences, which is why we were happy to invest £6.5million in this major project, put forward by our local authority partner Nottingham City Council.”
For more information on D2N2’s Local Growth Fund, click here
For more information on Biocity Nottingham, click here
For more information on the above release, please contact Sam Burbage, Social Media and Marketing Officer at the D2N2 LEP, on 01159 578 254, or by email: sam.burbage@d2n2lep.org
