Fund manager Palmer Capital and UK investor-developer Wrenbridge are acquiring a science park in eastern England where global consumer goods group Unilever has had a major R+D centre since 1947.

Fund manager Palmer Capital and UK investor-developer Wrenbridge are acquiring a science park in eastern England where global consumer goods group Unilever has had a major R+D centre since 1947.

Colworth Science Park, located 9 miles to the north of Bedford, was sold by a joint venture between Unilever and Sydney-listed property company Goodman. The financial details were not disclosed.

Unilever has occupied Colworth Science Park since 1947 and currently employs 600 people on site. Colworth Park comprises 37 hectares of land with 32,500 m2 of R&D, office, warehouse and site support.

Palmer Capital is a real estate fund manager and venture capital backer of property companies. it said that it would build on the back of its recent success in developing Discovery Park in Kent, where it is a partner in the consortium that owns the park.

GROWTH PLANS
Unilever has indicated it remains committed to Colworth Park. Palmer and Wrenbridge plan to increase the offices and laboratory space available, and to attract new companies to the park to sit alongside Unilever and other occupiers renting space there. The target is to create 500 new jobs over the next five years.

Alex Price of Palmer Capital commented: 'The business plan for Colworth Park is to work closely with Unilever and other key tenants onsite to ensure the Park continues to thrive, attracting new companies and further investment. We have a track record in delivering growth and believe this acquisition will further bolster our R&D credentials.'

Clive Gristwood, senior vice president of R&D at Unilever added: 'Unilever R&D has been present at Colworth for nearly 70 years and makes an outstanding contribution to Unilever’s Science & Innovation programmes. Colworth continues to be a site of global strategic importance for Unilever and is the primary base for the Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) and Refreshment R&D covering ice cream brands like Walls, Magnum and Cornetto and the world’s largest tea brand in Lipton and PG Tips in the UK.'