Cheshire campus is currently home to to 114 companies, including IBM, HCD Economics, Flexera Software, X-Cellr8 and Global Lifecycle Solutions EMEA – with 34 new businesses joining in 2016

Firms based at Sci-Tech Daresbury in Cheshire are reporting sales totalling £95m in 2016 – a 24% increase on the previous year.

A survey of 84 companies operating out of the specialist science and innovation business also revealed average sales growth of 30% over the past four years.

Sci-Tech Daresbury is currently home to 114 companies, including IBM, HCD Economics, Flexera Software, X-Cellr8 and Global Lifecycle Solutions EMEA, with 34 new businesses locating to the site in 2016.

The survey also showed that a total of 22 companies on the campus now have sales of more than £1m per year, with five of these having sales greater than £5m per year.

For 61% of those trading outside the UK, Europe remains as a key export market, accounting for 41% of total sales and with sales to North America growing strongly, from 16% to 21%.

Additionally more than £17m in investment was raised in 2016, up from £15m in 2015, from a range of sources including venture capital funds, grant funding bodies, business angels and private investors.

Sci-Tech Daresbury is also continually attracting and retaining the best scientific talent and last year the average size of companies based there increased from 6.7 to 7.3 employees.

This resulted in 76 more full time jobs becoming available at the campus in 2016.

Companies at the campus currently employ around 680 people, 85% of which are full time roles.

Sci-Tech Daresbury is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Halton Council.

John Downes, group managing director of Langtree and chairman of the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture company, said: “Many companies are maturing in business and their work of recent years is beginning to pay dividends as they take their products to market resulting in excellent sales.

“The campus offers many financial and collaborative benefits for tenants and we’re pleased that this has been reflected in the growth of the site and the growth of the companies based here.”