A major milestone has been reached with the completion of a new state-of-the-art business facility at the flagship Sci-Tech Daresbury Enterprise Zone.

Practical completion of Techspace Two, a two-storey, self-contained building comprising 10,000 sq ft of modern, flexible office space, took place this week.

The milestone comes as work continues on a larger sister building, Techspace One, which is a three-storey structure with 46,000 sq ft of modern office space along with wet and dry laboratory facilities, each on its own floor. Techspace One’s completion is imminent.

The completion of both buildings will see a further 350 jobs created at the campus, which is one of the UK’s leading centres for science and technology businesses.

Together the two buildings are part of a £20m investment into the Enterprise Zone, including development of new public realm and campus infrastructure. Techspace One has been supported by the ERDF programme 2007-2013 while Techspace  has received support from the Regional Growth Fund.

The first tenant to occupy Techspace Two will be Conveyor Networks, a leading software and automation solutions provider.

The new facilities are also attracting interest from other businesses in sectors such as biomedical, material science, instrumentation and clean technology.

The buildings include high-speed internet connectivity and can provide accommodation of up to 4,000 sq ft.

The Enterprise Zone status of both buildings means that tenants will be eligible for a number of financial incentives including reduced business rates over a five-year period.

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

Neal Biddle, Group Development Director at Langtree and Board Director of the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture company, said:

“Techspace Two will provide grade A office accommodation on the state of the art Sci-Tech Daresbury campus.  It’s designed to accommodate businesses operating in the science, technology and innovation sectors.

“The new building’s striking design and the modern landscaped setting reflects the innovative character of the businesses attracted to the campus.

“We’re delighted to have secured our first tenant and it’s particularly encouraging to see the volume of interest in the two buildings which the property team are securing from other potential tenants.”

Jayne Furnival, Group Property Director at Langtree added:

“Sci-Tech Daresbury has a unique offer in terms of its scientific facilities, its location and the quality of the accommodation it offers.

“It also offers very distinctive and valuable opportunities for collaboration with research, educational and business organisations so that the commercialisation of innovation can be accelerated.”