Newcastle Modern Icon Marks Five Years of Success

A STUNNING state-of-the-art data sciences and healthy ageing & longevity hub in Newcastle has celebrated a milestone anniversary.

The Catalyst, a £50m flagship centre of innovation at the heart of the Helix Development, marked five years of sustained growth and success with an event showcasing the leading-edge businesses based there.

The healthy ageing and data science hub, a Newcastle University building, has consistently attracted a dynamic community of businesses from pioneering robot innovators to virtual reality specialists. In 2021, The Catalyst became the first commercial building in the North East to be awarded the “Outstanding” BREEAM certification, a rating reserved for the top 1% of new UK non-domestic buildings.

The five-year celebration was attended by Labour’s Newcastle Central and West MP, Chi Onwurah, and featured presentations from the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing Team of, Sarah Nolan, Claire Robinson and Catherine Butcher; the National Innovation Centre for Data Directors, Professor’s Paul Watson and Barry Hodgson, as well as the Deputy Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Space, Tim Smith.

Amelia Findlay, Centre Manager at The Catalyst, said: “The Catalyst prides itself on not only providing the finest office and event space in the city, but also creating an environment to allow a thriving community of customers to collaborate and support each other.

“Every year since we opened, The Catalyst has welcomed more exciting new businesses, helped our customers with new office space to support their growth, and increased the number of events we stage, and the team here will continue to work hard to ensure that continues for the next five years and beyond”.

Since opening, The Catalyst has maintained around 95% occupancy levels, supported firms to create over 450 jobs, worked with 38 companies based in the building and delivered 4,815 events.

The Catalyst specialises in bringing together brilliant business brains and incredible research specialists to drive innovation in data and healthy ageing. The centre has developed a successful and supportive ecosystem to enable industry-defining firms to solve societal and industry challenges.

HQ to the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) and the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) – both hosted and funded by Newcastle University and UK Government – The Catalyst has been designed to encourage collaborative working to support 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.

Professor Barry Hodgson, Director of Strategy at NICD, said: “When we were creating The Catalyst, we wanted to create a location that would help harness the talent and research being done in Newcastle University and use this innovation to create and benefit businesses – to develop an ecosystem around data, which we have today. One of the best things about the building is the growth in collaborative working and the community that has emerged, which increases opportunity for student talent.”

NICA Director, Professor Nic Palmarini, said: “The Catalyst is not only a stunning building with incredible facilities and space, but it’s alive with ideas and innovation that spark other ideas and innovation through collaboration born out of shared interest and a desire to understand more about the ageing process.”

Oxford Innovation Space, Deputy Managing Director, Tim Smith, added: “All our innovation centres are so different, but what makes The Catalyst unique is the huge amount of people who use this building, who come here for meetings, events and seminars. The two national innovation centres that envisioned the design and functionality of building and are based in the office space alongside businesses here, bring people to Newcastle from all over the world and it’s only right that when these visitors arrive, they should have access to and enjoy the best surroundings and the best service in a building that constantly strives to be the best.”

Tallie Bush, founder and chief operating officer of Circadacare, based at The Catalyst for four years, said: “The Catalyst is a proven successful hub for startups and SMEs. I’ve found it to be welcoming and collaborative in its core ethos and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunities it’s given me to network fruitfully. The NICA contains a fabulous group of people who want to help and collaborate on everything related to longevity, so for our business it has been an ideal incubator.”

Jonathan White, logistics and relationship manager at Glycanage, said: “I could not do my job without the help from the Catalyst team. They support me with all my many, many incoming letters and other mail and help me coordinate with DHL when we ship things out. Everyone is knowledgeable, friendly and easy to work with. It provides an excellent foundation for having an office in the building.

To find out more about The Catalyst, pop in to grab a coffee in our comfortable café and chat to one of the friendly team, or visit: https://www.thecatalystnewcastle.co.uk/

Group line-up: NICA’s Project Manager, Sarah Nolan; Relationship Manager, Claire Robinson; and Community Manager Catherine Butcher ; NICD Director, Barry Hodgson ; Centre Manager, Amelia Findlay ; Newcastle Central and West MP Chi Onwurah ; and NICD Director, Paul Watson.