Multi-million pound Evergreen 2 funding announced for Manchester’s Citylabs 2.0

A multi-million pound deal has been announced that will fund the development of Manchester Science Partnerships’ (MSP) Citylabs 2.0 scheme.

The science and technology campus operator has received an £18.5m loan to finance the construction costs, professional fees and expenses of the 92,000 sq ft building, located in the heart of the Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district.

Comprising a mix of office and laboratory space, Citylabs 2.0 will follow the launch of the Citylabs 1.0 biomedical centre of excellence, which was fully occupied within 15 months of opening in 2014.

The deal was unveiled today (March 13) during a presentation on the evolution of the Citylabs campus at international real estate event MIPIM.

The funding encompasses £12.5m from Evergreen 2, the first loan facility to be made from the a £45m fund supported by the 2014-20 European Regional Development Fund programme. The balance was provided by the original North West Evergreen Fund.

As with the previous fund, Evergreen 2 is managed by CBRE’s investment advisory team, part of the property giant’s Capital Advisors business.

Evergreen 2 provides debt funding for commercial property and regeneration projects in Greater Manchester, focusing on low carbon projects.

MSP managing director Tom Renn said: “At Citylabs 2.0 we are committed to creating a world-leading hub for biomedical innovation and discovery and this funding from Evergreen 2 means we can soon begin construction work on the first stage of our plan to expand the campus in partnership with MFT [Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust].

“The success of Citylabs 1.0 has underlined the strong demand from global biomedical and precision medicine companies to locate and grow in Greater Manchester.”

He continued: “The city region’s £6bn devolved healthcare budget, its world class universities, skilled talent pool and strong track record of academic, clinical and commercial partnerships has made us a gateway for healthcare entrepreneurs, which we are looking to support with this development.”

Eamonn Boylan, chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, commented: “In Greater Manchester we pride ourselves on leading the way. By investing in businesses across our city region, we are able to develop new pioneering industries like Citylabs 2.0 that help to shape the world we live in.

“It is a credit to the successful businesses we have already helped to support through the North West Evergreen fund that we are able to expand the funds further so more innovative and groundbreaking organisations are able to benefit and grow.”

Citylabs 2.0 will be followed by another sister site, Citylabs 3.0.

Bruntwood is developing the scheme for MSP and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.