19 Mar 2025
Sciopolis appointed as Development Advisor by The Crown Estate
Sciopolis has been appointed to look at the feasibility of activating science and technology innovation at Cambridge Business Park.
Sciopolis has been appointed by The Crown Estate to explore opportunities for new start-up, lab, amenity and events space at Cambridge Business Park, North Cambridge.
This will form part of the transformation of Cambridge Business Park to become a gateway to a broader innovation district in the area, combining local social impact with national, mission-led innovation.
Sciopolis is now working with The Crown Estate to conduct feasibility studies to reposition existing buildings as an Innovation Hub. This could provide space for early-stage businesses, researchers, academics, industry partners and the wider community to locate and collaborate.
Together, the organisations will explore how this Innovation Hub might contribute to the local area, and how they can support growing science and technology sectors, such as Cleantech.
Sciopolis was appointed as a Development Adviser for this phase of the project based on its extensive experience in developing innovation hubs and for its focus on establishing effective ecosystems to help tenants scale and grow. The company partners with landlords, universities and local government to either convert existing sites or create new ones. Its mission is to build a network of such hubs across strategic locations in the country, providing much-needed infrastructure to help drive the Government’s Science Superpower mission.
Sciopolis is expected to support the development of the site and to operate it, as well as initiate ecosystem-building activities at Cambridge Business Park.
Mark Sanders, Chairman of Sciopolis, said: “We are proud to be advising The Crown Estate on creating not just a building, but the start of a long-lasting ecosystem. Working for a purpose driven organisation with a long-term focus is a great privilege and we know that this work has particular significance in The Crown Estate’s ambitious vision for Cambridge Business Park.”
Charlie Mitchell, CEO of Sciopolis, added: “We never start from the building; we start from understanding what science and technology innovators need, and build for them. Cambridge has no shortage of talent and ideas, and the city is on the ramp up to boost innovation, so it needs infrastructure to match. This means more labs and more space to converge great minds through open design, thoughtful amenities and a relentless focus on collaboration. Cambridge Business Park is the ideal place for a new hub, and we are laying the groundwork for it to become a success story.”