University of Southampton Science Park
The University of Southampton had created one of the most successful, flourishing science parks in the country. The Science Park team wanted to secure University funding for additional development on campus and begin option planning for the future. The Science Park had little scope for physical expansion into further land and the team wanted to ensure that some of its successful, growing businesses could have good, appropriate and helpful opportunity for their expansion.
We worked with the Science Park team and the Director of the SETsquared Business Incubator on site to consider the business case for additional development, the property options that might exist not just in Southampton but in neighbouring boroughs and provided recommendations against specific opportunities that had been identified. We began a journey of wider University engagement to look at how the Science Park could work ever more closely with its academics, students and support staff to deliver outputs that would serve their agendas.
The University concluded that it would invest further at its Science Park in Chilworth and the Science Park team were put into a strong position to engage with the University and potential partners over how best to develop their asset base into the future. The Science Park went on to be named Work Place Environment of the Year in the area in which it operates - recognised for having used its property strategy ‘to create quality working styles, increase productivity, innovative working environments and engender open, inclusive work cultures’.