MIPIM | KQ Liverpool tees up investment opportunities
The 450-acre innovation district has revealed further plans and is seeking investment for the development of Health Innovation Liverpool, a £550m collaboration with NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, as well as its Artificial Intelligence Materials Hub for Innovation, or AIM-HI venture.
AIM-HI
The University of Liverpool’s AIM-HI venture would occupy a double-height lab space at Paddington Village’s Hemisphere Two, the second building of a £156m scheme under development by Sciontec, KQ Liverpool’s spin-out development company.
Aiming to capitalise on the university’s materials science expertise, as well as the Material Innovation Factory, AIM-HI hopes to create a ‘materials innovation super-cluster’ in the district.
AIM-HI would use KQ Liverpool’s AI and robotics resources to drive innovation research and develop manufacturing capability.
Hemisphere Two will host Sciontec’s statement robotics lab. Credit: Sciontec
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool and Sciontec, said: “There’s a crossover from computer gaming, to robotics, to AI, to advanced manufacturing, so we want to create an innovation ecosystem in the building.
“Smaller start-ups are a big part of our focus, Liverpool lacks big occupiers, and our way of trying to fix that is not only through events like MIPIM, searching for inward investment, but you’ve got to grow your own businesses.
“Universities, spinouts, spinouts from the Material Innovation Factory, start-ups, SMEs, are really important. We need to grow the business economy in Liverpool – a big part of our focus is going on that growth journey with companies.”
Neighbouring Hemisphere One, the £61m development to be delivered by Morgan Sindall, will be the university’s Centre for Long-Acting Therapeutics, which would address the growing need for management of chronic conditions and maximise the use of the building’s plentiful chemistry labs.
Avison Young and Worthington Owen have been appointed as agents for Hemisphere One, while Carter Jonas is the agent for Hemisphere Two.
Health Innovation Liverpool
Health Innovation Liverpool, known as HIL, would be located on the site of the former Royal Liverpool Hospital and would bring together healthcare and private sector partners to utilise the wealth of health and life sciences technology, as well as the potential for data science and artificial intelligence in Knowledge Quarter.
Requiring more than £550m of investment, HIL would transform the delivery of life sciences research and health service provision while adding more than £1bn in GVA to the city region, according to project partners.
An estimated 2,700 long-term knowledge-intensive jobs could be created, as well as 800 jobs during construction.
HIL will consist of a future training facility for clinicians, a centre of excellence in health and life sciences research, and a Pandemic Preparedness and Response Facility to mitigate the impact of future outbreaks.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “These plans exemplify our ambition to create a life sciences superpower through collaboration and innovation.
“Not only can it help to improve health outcomes in our communities, but it can also boost economic growth by creating a cluster of clinicians, scientists, and facilities that will attract major new investment and co-location from industry, adding more than £1bn of economic impact to the city region.”
Sinclair added: “It’s really important that we grow the whole city region economy because if we are successful in isolation, that’s not going to turn the dial enough for Liverpool.
“So, we are also here to champion all the other big investments in the city and the wider city region because you need to grow that whole economy.”
Paddington Village residential opportunity
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, revealed the city council is actively searching for a development partner to deliver the earmarked residential scheme at Paddington Village.
He said: “We are looking at the potential for a 250-year lease to work with the right partner, [on a site] which is genuinely a market-ready opportunity to deliver a building of up to 18 storeys.”
Cllr Robinson suggested the Paddington Village site could host up to 300 apartments in the Knowledge Quarter.
These plans are very ambitious and if successful will boost the profile of Liverpool and deliver well paid jobs. However they really do need reliable public transport up there, like a tram into town, and if the UK government won’t help maybe the Chinese would.
By Anonymous
Okay, all great news. If there are tens of thousands of jobs in the area, a huge £1bn hospital, a university and now residential opportunities, where is the train station? Why are the bus routes not better?
Bendy buses are not going to cut it here. If you want to attract big companies for outside investment, you need proper public transport. Can’t we learn the lessons from the Channel 4 relocation?
By Ed
The real innovation would be if they just got on with it and delivered some jobs in this city.
By Anonymous
800 jobs in construction. Notably doesn’t mention building design. Track record suggests other city regions see the benefit of any jobs they create.
By Dr. Ernest Stoppidge
@5.07am, you appear to be saying that the design of these buildings should be ring-fenced for Liverpool City Region Architects, that’s a bit strange.
Looking from another angle would you say our own Liverpool based Architects should not be allowed to win contracts in, eg, London.
By Anonymous
Hello @9:12am. The good doctor thinks that when public money is used, they should be using local skills to help grow a thriving sector in the City Region. Not everyone agrees, and I accept that. This is Just my opinion and if it were private sector coin then fair do’s.
By Dr. Ernest Stoppidge