SCI-TECH DARESBURY SHINES LIGHT ON RISING STARS WITH LATEST FUTURE CLUB INTAKE

Leading science and innovation campus Sci-Tech Daresbury has unveiled the second cohort of its exclusive business growth scheme, The Future Club – Start-Ups for Success.

The Future Club programme provides a range of technical and business support to innovative science and technology start-ups and will help each business to realise its growth potential. Launched in 2021, the programme sees the leading Liverpool City Region campus handpick five dynamic young businesses to receive access to an invaluable array of business support and networking opportunities.

This year’s group were chosen in recognition of their significant business potential in developing products and services to meet technological, environmental and social needs.

Membership benefits include early access to the business growth mechanisms, partnerships and networks at the campus, as well as receiving greater visibility within the business and scientific communities in the North West and beyond.

The campus’s vibrant working environment provides a range of hot desk, office, laboratory and workshop facilities across a number of buildings on the campus. Additionally, the Future Club’s class of 2022 will have access to Sci-Tech Daresbury’s renowned networking events and collaboration opportunities.

Each of the Future Club members will also be able to benefit from the expertise of Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Gold Partners; ten handpicked organisations that offer first-class support for Sci-Tech Daresbury companies in a range of business and research areas, including Grant Thornton, IBM and the University of Liverpool. In addition, Active Coach and Techcelerate Ventures have agreed to provide further support and expertise to Future Club members for the second year running.

The 2022 intake are as follows:

• PIIstor is a Liverpool based start-up that safeguards the use of PII (personal identifiable information) for both people and companies. Led by CTO and director Michael McGlynn, the company seeks to address the need for better awareness of PII in light of the fact the vast majority of future commerce will be built on digital currency transactions and governed by automated smart contract outcomes.

Michael commented: “I’m very excited to be a member of the Future Club and I’m hoping that this platform will give PIIstor the visibility it needs to develop into a national, international and global company. The stunning location, the potential business opportunities and, most importantly, access to the expertise of the Sci-Tech Daresbury team – and the Gold Partners – means this is a momentous achievement for PIIstor.”

• Lyfe uses a simple app and online platform to help its customers integrate a healthy lifestyle into their schedules more easily. In the past six months, the Albert Dock located business has pivoted towards a focus on workplace wellbeing and counts the University of Liverpool, The NHS, Eversheds Sutherland, KPMG and The Blue Coat School among its clients.

Dr Edward J A Lynch, co-founder of Lyfe said: “The thing that excites us most about the Future Club is the networking opportunities at Sci-Tech Daresbury, in addition to access to investment advice, business growth support and a recruitment talent pool – these are all things our business will benefit from in the coming year.”

• Metricomm’s technology brings media evaluation into the digital age, moving beyond existing outputs, such as volume of clippings and focusing instead on audience impact and business outcomes. This is achieved through the Cheshire company’s proprietary algorithm and software, which calculate the size of audience most likely to have seen and engaged with online media coverage for PR and marketing communication campaigns.

Karen Williams, client director, Metricomm, said: “The single most important driver for us is building relationships with people who have experience in growing technology and data-driven businesses. We know we can learn from the experience of others and from what I’ve seen so far, our fellow Future Club members and other campus companies are very honest about their own start-up journeys. Attracting investment – and the right kind of investors – is high on our list of priorities, so we’ll be making the most of networking opportunities and the connectivity offered by Sci-Tech Daresbury.”

• Vitaerium helps organisations achieve and maintain safe working environments for their customers and employees by ensuring that the air in their buildings is free from contamination. Its patent pending technology uses Germicidal UV to irradiate pathogens (e.g viruses like Covid-19 and bacteria), ensuring that there are no biohazards remaining. Its filtration technology removes particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and odours that are harmful to people’s health.

Martin Moylan, founder of Vitaerium, said: “It is crucial for fast growth businesses to be immersed in an innovative and growth focused ecosystem. Being in the company of fellow travellers with similar mindsets creates and reinforces a ‘can do’ culture. I’m very happy to be on this journey of innovation and enterprise with my fellow Future Club members!”

• Ampode develops new advanced materials for increasing crop production. By using cutting edge technology to extend the UK growing season and increase yields for horticultural crops, Ampode will address the disruption caused by climate change and labour and supply issues caused by the UK leaving the EU. The company aims to develop technology to replace the lost EU labour, improve yield and, reduce pesticides using new materials and science.

Martin Leigh, founder of Ampode, said: “I have been around Sci-Tech Daresbury for many years for events, networking for finance and prototype building in the workshops. It’s a brilliant place where you can engage with fascinating people. It’s well positioned geographically, and there’s a multitude of other tech business to collaborate with. I’m hoping our involvement in the Future Club will help unlock investment and growth opportunities for Ampode, resulting in crucial progress for horticulture in the UK.”

Sci-Tech Daresbury is one of the UK’s leading science and innovation campuses and is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Borough Council. Despite business and economic disruptions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the site welcomed over 30 new tenants to the campus during 2021.

In response to this heightened demand from cutting-edge businesses requiring high-quality office and laboratory space, the campus is currently undergoing an extensive development programme. Planning permission was recently granted by Halton Borough Council for Ultraviolet, which will comprise a further 180,000 sq ft of Grade A office and laboratory space. It will be located next to Project Violet, a £17.8m three-building speculative office development which is set to open shortly with numerous firms already set to locate to the new facilities.

Additionally, last year the STFC’s Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) announced £172m funding from the government with an in-kind contribution of £38m from its strategic partner, IBM Research. This will be a key component of the UK’s advancement in the development and industrial application of key technologies such as data analytics, AI and quantum computing.

John Downes, chief executive of Langtree and chairman of Sci-Tech Daresbury, said: “The Future Club is designed to give the most exciting start-ups and entrepreneurs in the North West the support they need in order to take their businesses to the next level. Innovation does not happen in a vacuum – it is through collaboration and sharing of knowledge and connections that ideas can be turned into products and services that can change the world.

“These are the principles that underpin all we do at Sci-Tech Daresbury, and the Future Club is our way of sharing all that our campus has to offer with the cutting edge businesses in our region that are just starting out. I’ve no doubt that the connections made, and ideas shared during their membership of the Future Club will be pivotal in these five businesses achieving their potential in years to come. It’s going to be really exciting to watch them develop, and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead.”

To find out more about The Future Club’s class of 2021, please follow the link HERE