There are more than 140 businesses at the site, a private-public joint-venture partnership between Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Halton Council. Tony McDonough reports

Firms at Liverpool city region science and innovation campus Sci-Tech Daresbury generated more than £130m of sales in 2018 – a rise of 22% on the previous year.

There are more than 140 businesses at the site, a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Halton Council, and the survey covered 112 of them.

During the year 64% of companies saw their sales grow and 73% of companies trading have sales outside the UK, an increase from 62% in 2017. Europe continues to be a key export market, accounting for more than half of export sales, with North America accounting for more than a quarter of total sales.

Software company Syrenis has enjoyed significant growth since setting up business at the campus in 2016. The company aims to simplify the management of personal information and stakeholder engagement by providing organisations with solutions that are secure and efficient.

Earlier this year, Syrenis was announced as one of the ‘Top 50 Fastest Growing Technology companies in the North’ by the Northern Tech Awards.

The company, based in Vanguard House, has more than tripled its team size in the last three years, now employing 23 technical and commercial specialists out of its Sci-Tech Daresbury office, with plans to hire six to ten more employees over the next 12 months.

Syrenis has accelerated its annual turnover from £608,000 to £1,7m since its move to the campus and is projected to further increase its turnover to £2.2m for the 2019/2020 financial year.

Chief executive Glenn Jackson said: “Sci-Tech Daresbury offers us a wealth of benefits from access to computer science and technology talent to its excellent connectivity allowing us to access our clients with relative ease.

“This has enabled direct growth of our business and when you marry that to the inspiring atmosphere and facilities available on site, it makes for a great working environment for our staff.

“The data also revealed that 30 companies on the campus recorded sales of more than £1m in 2018 and, of these, seven achieved sales greater than £5m over the 12 months. Sci-Tech Daresbury also maintained its reputation for attracting some of the best scientific and technology talent with a net increase of 112 FTE jobs in 2018.

John Downes, group chief executive of Langtree and chair of the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture company, added: “We’re delighted to be reporting another year of strong business growth on campus, which demonstrates the wealth of benefits on offer to both new and existing companies on the site.”