BLETCHLEY PARK CAPITAL PARTNERS: LEADING THE REGENERATION OF BLETCHLEY PARK
The Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre (BPSIC) was established in 2004 by Bletchley Park Capital Partners Ltd. (BPCP) and has the following key aims
- To provide a much-needed revenue stream for the cash-strapped Bletchley Park Trust
- To bring world-class innovation back to The Park and;
- To help stimulate the local economy
BPCP, run by local entrepreneurs, established a partnership with the Trust to provide a mutually profitable focus for the regeneration of the site at a time when the Park was almost friendless. Successfully attracting international private backing for the inherently risky project, BPCP enabled the renovation of several of the most derelict buildings and subsequently equipped them with modern security and ICT facilities.
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The aim of the partnership was to build upon Bletchley Park's heritage as the birthplace of the modern computer by fostering the growth and development of dynamic knowledge-based businesses there and generating an income stream for the Trust based on ground rent and a share of profits.
On the back of the early success of BPSIC, in 2007 the Bletchley Park Trust asked BPCP to take on the upper floors of the Victorian Mansion which were in need of restoration. A new agreement was reached and BPCP made further investments in renovation and ICT facilities and brought a new range of offices, aimed at commercial businesses, to market later that year.
Both facilities have been well-received and BPSIC remains the home of several of the most exciting UK technology start-ups. One of them, Ceravision Ltd., with some highly innovative technology for electrodeless discharge lighting has grown from small beginnings into a £100M concern employing over 30 people. Interestingly, Ceravision alone now has more paid employees than the Bletchley Park Trust itself. It is still headquartered within the Centre and more details on its activities can be found at www.ceravision.com.
BPSIC continues to go from strength to strength and BPCP is now planning a further phase of development having achieved outstanding proof of the viability of the partnership concept. To date it has provided a direct cash income of £744k to the Bletchley Park Trust. Equally important is the fact that it has secured the future of three of the historic buildings on the site as a direct consequence of an investment in refurbishment of over £920k by BPCP while simultaneously bringing innovation back to Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre
Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre is based in Blocks A and E of the world-famous Bletchley Park.
The Centre is currently housed in 4,000 square metres (42,000 sq.ft) of what was once the World War II Naval Intelligence Accommodation. Now fully modernised, BPSIC offers managed workspace units upwards from 11sq.m (120 sq.ft) for a range of office, studio, laboratory, technical, assembly, or light manufacturing purposes. BPSIC offers start-ups and young companies the environment, facilities and assistance they need to prosper.
The Mansion
A range of serviced commercial offices is now also available in the prestigious Victorian Mansion which has now also been fully refurbished and equipped with modern ICT facilities. (see OFFICE SPACE IN MANSION).
Location, Location, Location
With an address viewed as "to-die-for" by many in the technology sector, Bletchley Park lies at the centre of the important Oxford-Cambridge Arc and is located close to Milton Keynes. It is just a five minute walk from Bletchley railway station (London Euston 40 minutes away) and close to the region's major roads network, providing excellent transport links to London, Birmingham and east-west across the country, and only 40 minutes from Luton Airport.
BPSIC's success is making an increasingly valuable financial and cultural contribution to helping preserve the historic Bletchley Park for future generations.