Science and tech startups in the Cambridge area are to benefit from the launch of an innovation hub.
A strategic partnership has been formed between commercial intellectual property specialists Frontier IP and Abstract Mid-Tech Limited, which deals with commercial property development, investment and venture capital financing.
The Group is taking on a 20-year lease for the Frontier IP innovation hub, dedicated to start up and early- stage science and technology companies at Abstract’s South Cambridge Science Centre (SCSC) in Sawston.
Frontier IP will sublet space to its portfolio companies and other innovative companies aligned with the Group’s focus on deep tech and life sciences. The Group will also move its commercialisation team, currently based in Duxford, Cambridge, into the facility.
In return for becoming an anchor tenant, Abstract has paid Frontier IP an upfront payment of £1 million and will also provide the 18,000 sq ft space rent free for the initial first 12 months of Frontier IP’s occupancy.
A Group spokesman said the move will enable Frontier IP to strengthen its presence at the heart of a world-leading Cambridge science and technology ecosystem and, by extension, within the UK’s innovation ‘golden triangle’ of Cambridge, Oxford and London.
The SCSC is located close to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, which includes Addenbrookes Hospital, GSK, AstraZeneca, the Babraham Research Campus, Granta Park and Unity Campus. It is also close to road and rail links and the city centre.
The spokesman said, “This means it is easy to reach for our networks of industry partners, investors and capital providers in Cambridge and those from further afield in the UK and internationally. The Centre will also provide a base to support Frontier IP’s other portfolio companies from elsewhere in the UK, Italy and Portugal.”
As well as raising Frontier IP’s profile in the Cambridge area, the space will offer high-quality space and networking opportunities for prospective companies, among other benefits.
It is anticipated the hub will open by the end of 2025.
Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer Neil Crabb said: “We anticipate that a number of our portfolio companies will move in and that it will prove highly attractive to other potential start-ups and early-stage companies because of its place at the centre of Cambridge’s investor and science and technology networks.
“Our business model is based on identifying promising IP and providing hands-on commercialisation services to build successful businesses. Having a much closer physical presence between our commercialisation teams, portfolio companies and potential portfolio companies will enable us to accelerate their development and scale-up, and, eventually, successful exits.”
Abstract Chief Executive Officer, Mark Glatman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Frontier IP as our first occupier at the SCSC so soon after completing the first phase of development.
“This commitment is one of the most significant lettings in the wider Cambridge science market during 2025.
