- Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture between investor and developer Bruntwood and Legal & General, is the UK’s leading property and innovation services provider dedicated to driving the growth of the science and technology sector;
- The capital from OakNorth Bank will support the acquisition and redevelopment of Glasgow’s Met Tower, a 14-storey office building in the heart of the city centre;
- The project will see Glasgow join Bruntwood SciTech’s network of innovation districts that includes locations in Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool;
- Glasgow’s science and tech sector is rapidly growing, having seen some of the highest growth in the whole of the UK over the past two years, which now makes up 28% of all jobs in the city[1].
OakNorth Bank – the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – has provided a £35.6M business loan to the science and tech sector’s leading property provider, Bruntwood SciTech.
Established in 2018 in a joint venture between leading regional property company Bruntwood and Legal & General, Bruntwood SciTech is dedicated to driving the growth of the UK’s science and technology sector. Headquartered in central Manchester, the firm is now home to a network of over 500 disruptive and innovative companies and has 2.4M sq. ft of assets under management, with a further 5M sq. ft in its development pipeline.
The debt finance from OakNorth Bank will be used to support the acquisition and redevelopment of Glasgow’s Met Tower, a 14-storey office building in the heart of the city centre, that’s set to become its new tech and digital hub. The site will be transformed into a hub where university spinouts, start-ups, scaleups, and large leading tech businesses can co-locate together and benefit from being in an innovative, collaborative tech cluster. Offering 113,000 sq. ft of coworking, serviced and leased office space, the site will include a shared breakout space on the ground floor, as well as a rooftop lounge to be used by its future community.
The facility will also be used to acquire the three-storey podium building, located adjacent to the Met Tower and situated a short walk from Glasgow’s central station and within immediate proximity to The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University and the City of Glasgow College.
Kate Lawlor, CEO, Bruntwood SciTech, commented on the transaction: “Glasgow has one of Europe’s most exciting, diverse tech and digital clusters with exceptional higher education institutions and clinical assets. The city’s science and tech sector is rapidly growing, with the industry now making up 28% of all jobs in the city, making Met Tower perfectly placed to help create a hub in which these businesses can scale, co-innovate and thrive. Our investment in Glasgow is for the long term, and as we’ve demonstrated in our other cities, we are committed to becoming embedded and driving forwards the growth of the knowledge economy and economic impact of the sector both in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland. This is why returning to OakNorth Bank for our funding was a must, as we knew Chris and his team would be able to offer flexibility and speed-of-execution. We continue to see them as a true partner rather than a bank and we look forward to strengthening our relationship in the future.”
Chris Swarbrick, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “We’re delighted to be once again supporting a business that’s championing the UK’s science and technology sector. Under Kate’s leadership, Bruntwood SciTech has created a hugely impressive reputation that has seen it develop numerous innovation districts in locations such as Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and now Glasgow. The Met Tower development will be a stand-out project for Bruntwood SciTech, given its intentions to be net zero in operation, following a transformation project that will retain as much of its existing fabric as possible, significantly reducing the embedded carbon impact of the redevelopment. Ensuring specialist property developers across the UK are provided with the fast, flexible finance required to grow is vitally important and we’re delighted to continue to support Bruntwood SciTech as its partner of choice in a competitive marketplace.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
[1] Gov.UK – Tech jobs increase in Edinburgh and Glasgow as sector thrives
About OakNorth Bank plc
Launched in September 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs, OakNorth Bank provides fast, flexible, and accessible debt finance to the UK’s Missing Middle.
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £7.5B, directly helping with the creation of 31,600 new jobs and 22,300 new homes across the UK.
- Raised deposits from c.160,000 savers.
- Supported several hundred businesses across the UK with the debt finance to pursue their growth ambitions.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.
Media contact
Tom Pavey-Smith, Associate Director, Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / 0791 716 5588