A state-of-the-art £50m innovation centre in the heart of Newcastle is running at full capacity, just two years since opening its doors.
Located on the Newcastle Helix Development, The Catalyst has brought together businesses and research specialists to drive innovation in data and healthy ageing, creating a supportive ecosystem that enables industry-defining businesses to solve societal and industry challenges.
Despite having opened in January 2020, just before the start of the pandemic and, for many, the transition to home working, The Catalyst has continued to attract a dynamic community of businesses from deep tech innovators to skincare specialists.
This month, the last remaining office space was taken up by GlycanAge, a life science company that was already using The Catalyst’s coworking facilities, but wanted to upgrade to a larger, fixed office space. It is one of 30 businesses now based at the centre.
Rebecca Robinson, centre manager at The Catalyst, said: “We’re so thrilled to see our fantastic building reach full occupancy and proud of the speed at which we have attracted businesses to take up residence, considering the challenges of the last two years. It’s a testament to the impressive facilities, our centre team and the wider Newcastle Helix community.”
Home to the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing and the National Innovation Centre for Data – both hosted and funded by Newcastle University in partnership with the UK Government – The Catalyst has been designed in a way that encourages collaborative working to support its customers to grow and develop new ideas, products and services.
Spread over five floors, the 100,000sqft building boasts a TED Talk-style theatre, a corporate boardroom with panoramic views of the city, exhibition space, multiple meeting rooms, as well as a multi-use workshop space, which can be used for everything from virtual events to product demonstrations.
Barry Hodgson, director of strategy at the National Innovation centre for Data, said: "Businesses locate in The Catalyst to benefit from the ecosystem we are creating around data, and it's really exciting to see the growth in collaborative engagements and the increasing opportunities available for student talent."
Prof. Patrick Bonnett, Vice Chair of the UK Science Park Association, said: “The Catalyst is a fantastic asset – for the national and regional innovation ecosystem, and for Newcastle as a city. That we have achieved full occupancy so fast is further evidence of the flourishing innovation community developing here on the Helix Innovation Quarter.”
