Warrington stakes tech claim following Base deals

Following a trio of lettings to tech companies at The Base on Dallam Lane, the managing director of public-private regeneration body Warrington & Co has claimed that the town is well-placed to develop a strong tech cluster.

JSA Design, Cube32 Studios and DAT Draughting Services have all signed for space at the 50,000 sq ft office building, taking the number of tech and engineering occupiers to 16, employing more than 140 staff. The Base, now 45% let, is managed by Langtree on behalf of Warrington & Co.

Steve Park said: “We don’t have a Northern Quarter or a Baltic Triangle in Warrington, but we’re growing a cluster of hi-tech companies here because they see the locational advantages.

“They can tap into two established labour pools yet access vital business support in somewhere like The Base. There’s an exciting tech cluster developing here that is helping future-proof our economy.”

Chris Bain, managing director of Cube32, said: “Attracting and retaining talent is key to our whole business plan and being in Warrington makes that much easier.  Draw a map showing a 30-minute commute and you’re looking at a workforce of more than three million people.”

At a recent presentation at The Base by Siemens’ chief technology officer, Alan Norbury, the audience heard that technology-led manufacturing companies could expect to see a 30% boost to productivity as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ took hold – the Base’s occupier base is split roughly evenly, with nine tech businesses and the balance working mostly in engineering.

“Norbury’s comments really chimed with us in Warrington,” said Park: “We want to have our cake and eat it: be a home for the tech businesses that are driving productivity gains for our existing manufacturers.  That would set us fair for years to come.”

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