Sci-Tech Daresbury announces solid-gold line-up of business partnerships for 2022

Sci-Tech Daresbury has released its annual line-up of eleven strategic organisations that will offer first class business support, expertise and services for its high-tech SMEs in the coming 12 months.

IBM, Marks & Clerk, Michael Page, Connectus, RTC North, Slater Heelis and the University of Liverpool will return once again to serve as the campus’s Gold Partners for 2022/2023 and will this year be joined by Catax, Guardian People Management, David Antrobus Marketing and Vista Insurance Brokers Ltd.

The Gold Partners are a group of handpicked organisations that enhance the benefits for businesses located at Sci-Tech Daresbury across a range of areas, including legal services, financial and tax management, insurance services, AI and data analytics, intellectual property, marketing, talent recruitment and retention, HR services, scientific research, technology commercialisation and IT infrastructure, cyber security and cloud solutions.

The returning members of the Gold Partnership programme bring with them valuable insights and experience from their previous years within the programme, and will continue to contribute their expertise to supporting the needs and opportunities for the high-growth technology companies located at Sci-Tech Daresbury.

New member David Antrobus Marketing brings with it a fresh take on successful marketing, alongside Catax, experts in tax relief and capital allowances programmes. Also joining are Guardian People Management, which will be able to provide effective HR solutions to the campus and Vista Insurance, which has the knowledge to provide specialist advice in several different insurance services.

John Leake, Business Growth Director at Sci-Tech Daresbury said: “We are delighted that our Gold Partners programme once again continues to excel in its shared vision towards driving discovery in the science and technology industries and delivering sustainable economic growth for the Northern Powerhouse economy.

“Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do at Sci-Tech Daresbury. It’s built physically into our campus infrastructure within our workspaces and buildings, but it’s also deeply instilled into the core values that the campus was originally founded on back in 2006.

“We are grateful that many of our Gold Partners are continuing their mentoring journey, and we are certain that our smaller-sized companies will continue to benefit from their knowledge, support and expertise which will help them to successfully grow and expand within their respective fields.

“The newly joining businesses will bring fresh perspectives and key knowledge and expertise to the Gold Partnership. We hope that our programme will also attract and benefit new talent from further afield to the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus, helping our community to flourish as a centre of scientific and technological excellence within the Liverpool City Region.”

Sci-Tech Daresbury boasts Enterprise Zone status, which enables government support in the form of tax breaks, allowing business rates to be reinvested into the site and create important new infrastructure. This supports greater investment into further expansion of the specialist office, laboratory and technical space on the campus.

Sci-Tech Daresbury is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Borough Council.

The Gold Partners will provide dynamic insights across a range of sectors:

Catax is an expert in specialist areas of tax relief, including Capital Allowances, Research & Development (R&D), Remediation of Contaminated Land and the Patent Box, and Grants Services. With over 13 years’ experience, they have identified nearly half a billion pounds in tax benefit for their clients to date.
Connectus is a leading Business Connectivity and IT Managed Services partner, providing Microsoft 365, cloud infrastructure, cyber security and IT Support to help businesses stay connected, protected and to collaborate effectively online as they scale and grow.
David Antrobus Marketing has been delivering successful traditional and digital marketing campaigns across various science and innovation businesses and associated technical and manufacturing sectors for 25 years. Its team are passionate about helping businesses grow and work closely with their clients to ensure that their marketing activities deliver a strong return on investment.
Guardian People Management is a close-knit team of practical, friendly, and commercial HR & employment law experts with decades of experience supporting clients in a variety of sectors including research, science, engineering, and technology. Their focus is on making HR workable for employers by getting their house in order and demystifying how to get the best from their people.

Through the IBM Research team, IBM can offer businesses based on the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus advice on the latest emerging technologies such as AI and their applicability in a range of commercial areas. IBM’s support for its fellow campus firms was enhanced last year with the announcement of the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation, which brings together innovative AI, quantum computing and the expertise of STFC Hartree Centre and IBM to benefit UK industry and research communities.
Marks & Clerk, intellectual property (IP) experts, has a full IP service offering, giving clear, practical and commercially focused advice on all IP matters (patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, litigation, due diligence, etc.), helping companies to identify, protect, enforce and defend their innovations and brands in the UK and overseas, via its international network of offices.
Michael Page is part of PageGroup and delivers advice on talent attraction and retention. Established in the UK in 1976, PageGroup has grown to become one of the world’s best-known and most respected recruitment consultancies. With 100 colleagues based in the North West and operations in 36 countries, PageGroup supports the Sci-Tech Daresbury community on a local, regional and global level via its four key brands: Page Executive, Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Outsourcing.
RTC North specialises in the commercialisation of new products and services. RTC North works with individuals, businesses, and the public sector to help create more innovative and vibrant economies. Core services are in innovation, raising skills and business growth.
Slater Heelis offers legal services focusing on corporate structures and incorporation, corporate governance and directors’ duties, mergers, acquisitions, IPOs and capital markets, development capital, venture capital and angel investment, joint ventures, commercial contracts, intellectual property licensing and transfer, real estate transactions, employment law, dispute resolution and estate planning.

The University of Liverpool is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive higher education institutions with an annual income of £583.5 million, including £95.1 million for research. The University is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of the UK’s leading research universities and the N8 Research Partnership and is consistently ranked in the top 200 universities worldwide.
Vista Insurance Brokers Ltd is an owner-led company that focus on delivering impartial advice, attention-to-detail and straight-talking approaches to all their work. Their specialisms include cyber insurance, tech & life science, insurance due diligence and corporate insurance covering many specialist sectors. They have international reach in over 55 countries, aided over 400 clients, achieved over £27m in premium income in the last five years alone, and, most recently, won Commercial Lines Broker of the year at the prestigious 2022 UK Broker Awards.