Business Incubation is a unique and highly flexible combination of business development processes, infrastructure and people, designed to nurture and grow new and small businesses by supporting them through the early stages of development and change.
UMICmanages the Manchester Bioscience Incubator: accommodation for start-up biotech companies, and The Core Technology Facility (CTF): accommodation for growing biotech SMEs and service companies.
Companies accepted into the incubator programmes will benefit from:
Programme aims
The Incubator Programmes plan to do three main things:
1) Establish and efficiently manage a high-quality business incubation facility. This will initially be providing all the usual benefits of a business incubator, as well as telephone and broadband access. UMIC will also provide the high quality facilities management.
2) Establish and facilitate a highly supportive environment, enabling companies to quickly develop from a fragile start-up to a resilient and commercially successful business (see list above for support services). We recognise the importance of working in close partnership with a whole host of other agencies involved in business incubation and business support in the region. Appropriate sign-posting and introductions to these other agencies will therefore be another key element of the incubator programme’s support structure.
3) Establish a fair and transparent selection process, involving an Advisory Panel made up of members of UMIC Ltd and local entrepreneurs. The Panel will also provide ongoing support aimed at ensuring an appropriate ‘exit’ in terms of accessing finance, facilities and providing grow on space from other partners such as Manchester Science Park.
Company selection criteria
As to what sorts of companies we are looking for to become clients of the incubator, this can be summed up as follows:
The viability and potential success of the business will be judged on all the usual criteria growth in turnover, numbers of job created, and the strength of the management team but also on the long-term sustainability of the company. We are not only interested in “high growth” companies we also want to nurture “modest growth” companies that may be more likely to survive in the long term.
Programme expectations
As to what we expect of companies looking to become clients in the incubator;
To take it seriously – we will agree a Service and Action Plan with all new clients entering the incubator – an objective-based plan setting out the support and services we will provide to them and the business objectives they are planning to achieve, which will be reviewed regularly.
The incubator programmes are now accepting pre-qualification materials or business plans from companies with: An innovative, technology or service-based product idea or business concept. Especially project opportunities for improved job creation or that adds value to the Manchester; Knowledge Capital regional economy.
