The building now provides a hub for growing agriculture, innovation and technology-related businesses, with 22 offices of various sizes, a hot-desk hub, and an open plan innovation space where entrepreneurs can collaborate.

Why?

The historic Russell Building had previously been empty since 2014.

Impact

This increase in workspace capacity will enable a greater number of companies to take advantage of the tax breaks, free business support and collaboration opportunities offered by Herts IQ with innovation partners Rothamsted Research, Rothamsted Enterprises, and Lawes Agricultural Trust.

Funding

Hertfordshire LEP and Herts IQ invested £1.7m funding to help with refurbishment.

Previously a £500k Hertfordshire LEP investment  was invested in the unused Daniel Hall building at Rothamsted Research which was refurbished to provide incubation space for research intensive agri-tech start-ups and SMEs, and facilitate knowledge transfer opportunities to accelerate their growth. The Daniel Hall Innovation Centre now offers 1,020 sq.m. of laboratory and office space to house circa 15 businesses.

Hertfordshire LEP also helped secure EU funding to kick-start an innovation programme at Rothamsted Research in June 2018, as part of its Agricultural Research and Innovation Accelerator (AgRIA).

The venture is backed by £2.7m funding, of which half has come from Hertfordshire’s allocation of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with match funding from public and private sources.

This project was approved by the board on the 19th September 2019.