An agreement has been reached for Waters Corporation to purchase a brand-new facility at Longbridge Business Park from developer, St. Modwen. The agreement follows planning permission being approved in August for the new industry-leading science centre to be built.
Waters Corporation is a global leader in analytical instruments and software serving the life, materials, and food sciences for more than 60 years. The multinational company based in the U.S., has more than 7,800 employees worldwide with more than 1,000 employed across multiple facilities in England and Ireland, and will bring a new industry-leading precision engineering centre, across 3 acres on Longbridge Business Park.
The move will create over 100 skilled jobs and cement the company’s interests in the West Midlands.
As St. Modwen continues the regeneration of West Longbridge, the area is rapidly gaining a reputation for being a specialist centre for science, technology, medicine, precision engineering and R&D sectors.
Leading businesses such as Bytesnap and Mark3d are already based in Longbridge, and with IVC Evidensia well on its way to completion, all are helping to support and grow the local economy.
Construction work starts in early 2023 and the specialist centre is scheduled to open in 2024. When complete, the new Waters facility will provide a world-class centre developing high-value analytical technologies, and offering its customers industry-leading scientific expertise. The 45,000 sq ft building will deliver a 300% increase in available space for Waters Corporation compared to its existing premises in Solihull.
Elliot Sellars, Development Director at St. Modwen, said: “This exciting new precision engineering facility for Waters will bring further specialist expertise to Longbridge. As the entire Longbridge regeneration continues it is encouraging to see industry leading businesses choosing this developing location as their base for operations. It’s good news for the local and regional economies and will ensure that the work undertaken by St. Modwen in recent years will benefit the area for many years to come.”
Upon completion, Longbridge Business Park will create up to 5,000 new jobs and has benefitted from infrastructure investment in partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Having an industry-leading scientific company based at Longbridge represents another significant milestone in its ongoing regeneration. I hope this will be just one of many more exciting developments to come. I’m pleased that the WMCA has been able to support the rejuvenation of Longbridge. It’s an iconic location that has delivered so much prosperity in the past and I look forward to it playing a vital part in the West Midlands economy in the months and years ahead.”
Longbridge Business Park offers exceptional local, regional and national connectivity and is a sustainable addition to the wider £1bn Longbridge masterplan. In addition to the business park, the investment will see an attractive new residential neighbourhood of 350 homes created.