Five years after the closure of Sensor City in Liverpool Knowledge Quarter the building reopens as a £2m innovation hub with seven tenants already signed up. Tony McDonough reports

Sciontec has opened its £2m innovation hub, CENTRAL TECH, with seven tenants already occupying 9,000 sq ft of the 27,000 sq ft facility.

Located on Copperas Hill, CENTRAL TECH is housed in the former Sensor City building which closed in 2020. It officially launched on Wednesday as part of the LCR Innovation Investment Fortnight (IIF) programme.

Utilising the “ultrafast” LCR Connect broadband network, it will be a central hub offering expertise in health, life sciences, technology and digitalisation. Sciontec, operator of nearby Liverpool Science Park (LSP) is behind the new venture.

Sciontec is the KQ development company owned by Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and Bruntwood SciTech.

Among the first tenants is property software venture Bellrock. It is creating a head office for its Concerto platform which helps customers with their facilities management. It has taken a 2,635 sq ft space.

AI-enabled platform Harker, which helps homelessness charities to manage their data more effectively to demonstrate their social impact and provide more personalised support, has taken two new first floor spaces at CENTRAL TECH.

Other tenants include software development and digital services firm Jamescape, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s enterprise hub, laboratory automation hardware and software firm Labman and engineering firm DefProc.

Innovation investment consultancy LYVA Labs is relocating its headquarters to a 750 sq ft space on the first floor as it aims to increase its engagement with start-ups, corporates, higher education, research technology organisations, investors and public funders.

Sciontec has also relocated its team to the building, occupying a 600 sq ft ground floor space in the innovation district’s newest development.

Leanne Katsande, head of commercial at Sciontec, said: “The arrival of CENTRAL TECH has created a real buzz among the city region’s innovation community and we have been inundated with enquiries over the past few weeks.

“CENTRAL TECH’s location combined with our Sciontec AI all-inclusive packages on the first three floors and ultrafast internet connectivity through LCR Connect, means it is an easy choice for a lot of innovation-led organisations.”

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CENTRAL TECH also offers a communal roof terrace, events space, breakout areas and kitchenettes. Customers have access to discounted gym membership at the LJMU Sport building and to the Academic Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme.

Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool and Sciontec, added: “Demand for CENTRAL TECH has already been unprecedented, showing that Liverpool city region is riding a wave of innovation.”