£2m relaunch of Sensor City in the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter could happen in the next few months. Tony McDonough reports
Sensor City in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter could reopen in months
Sciontec could oversee the £2m relaunch of Sensor City in the next few months four year after the hi-tech facility closed its doors.
Opened in the city’s Knowledge Quarter (KQ Liverpool) in 2017 as a hub for sensor technology, Sensor City was a joint venture between Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool.
However, the concept did not take off and the Copperas Hill site closed during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020.
In September 2022, LBN reported that Sciontec, jointly owned by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool and Bruntwood SciTech, was looking to take over the facility.
It already owns and operates the three buildings of Liverpool Science Park (LSP). According to Sciontec’s annual accounts, just published on Companies House, LSP operates around more than 90% occupancy.
It is keen therefore to meet that demand for office and laboratory space in the Knowledge Quarter by utilising Sensor City. In the accounts Sciontec states its ambition to convert the building into LSP’s fourth site.
In 2022 it said it would upgrade, modernise and relaunch Sensor City as a global hub for innovation, technology, digitalisation and the internet of things. This builds on its existing commitment to sensor technologies.
In a statement to LBN, Sciontec said: “Sciontec continues to move forward positively with its partners to complete the complex legal and administrative process in order to reopen Sensor City in the coming months.”
Sciontec, which also offers space at The Spine building on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians, is looking two develop to new buildings in the Knowledge Quarter – HEMISPHERE One and HEMISPHERE Two.
Image of the £60m HEMISPHERE One in Paddington Village
Liverpool Science Park is operated by Sciontec. Picture by Tony McDonough
Plans for HEMISPHERE One in Paddington Village were first revealed in 2022. It will comprise around 115,000 sq ft of office and laboratory space. In March this year the Government said it would contribute £13m to its construction.
In the same month Sciontec said it had secured lettings totalling around 75,000 sq ft of HEMISPHERE One and announced plans for HEMISPHERE Two. Total cost of building both developments would be well in excess of £100m.
Sciontec’s accounts, which cover the year to September 30, 2023, show a pre-tax profit of £68,000 against a loss of £111,000 in the previous year. Turnover was £657,000, up from £475,000 in the previous year.
Its income comprises largely of management fees charged to Liverpool Science Park and the annual subscriptions of the KQ Liverpool innovation district. Each of the four partners contributed £42,000.
During the year it spent just over £1m on fees relating to the acquisition of Sensor City and pre-development work on HEMISPHERE One. Sciontec’s accounts also showed there were 12 employees during the year, up from eight the following year.
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