23rd February 2009

The region’s bioscience and healthcare sector is well positioned to lead the economy out of the current downturn so BioCity Nottingham is providing yet another service to ensure continuing success. As asset finance becomes increasing hard to find, the busy bioscience business incubation company has stepped in to acquire expensive laboratory equipment for businesses at BioCity and lease it to them over a number of years.

The new service is a logical extension from renting space to renting the equipment to go in that space. Specialist items costing up to £45,000 will be purchased by the support team in consultation with tenants, who will then rent back on a commercial basis over a minimum two-year period. A typical example of a costly piece of equipment is the HPLC* which is used for analysing samples. This costs around £30,000 to purchase and would previously have been acquired through a bank loan or other asset financing scheme.

“Companies still need to get their hands on expensive laboratory equipment if they are to develop and grow,” says Dr Glenn Crocker, BioCity chief executive. “It makes sense for us to take away an unnecessary burden on these growing companies, and in some cases give them the means to move to the next stage of business growth.”

This is just the latest in a series of benefits enjoyed by the tenants of BioCity. In addition to on-site specialist business advice and clinics, tenants have access to the Biotel, a well equipped research laboratory which can be hired by the day; a state-of-the-art NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometer; discounts negotiated with several city retailers and a popular Bistro.

ENDS
BioCity media contact:
Louise Third, Integra Communications
T: 0115 906 1377
E: louise@integra.gb.com

Notes:
1.BioCity Nottingham Ltd was launched in September 2003. The company develops and operates bioscience and healthcare related incubation and innovation facilities. The first facility was opened in Nottingham in September 2003 and Phase 3, in the form of grow-on space, opened in October 2008. BioCity Nottingham is currently home to 60 fast-growing companies, including R&D and business support services. BioCity was founded by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and East Midlands Development Agency. http://www.biocity.co.uk

2.High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a form of column chromatography used frequently in biochemistry and analytical chemistry to separate, identify, and quantify compounds.