Chinese investment into the North East

The launch of the UK’s first TusPark Innovation Centre in Newcastle acts to provide a strong foundation for UK companies wishing to enter the Chinese market, writes Tom Pattinson

On the other side of the country, TusPark Innovation Centre launched its first UK campus in Newcastle. TusPark – or Tsinghua University Science Park – originated as an innovation centre and high-tech incubator next to the famous Beijing-based university. There are now dozens of TusParks in China helping businesses grow and gain funding. In Newcastle, TusPark at Maybrook House, on Grainger Street, hosts companies including WifiPlug, Skriware, Beeline, Study Atlas, Equiwatt, and Plan Digital.

As the largest innovation ecosystem in China, TusPark UK helps to develop suitable joint ventures and find supply chain partners for scale-ups who wish to enter the Chinese market. Their strong relationship with national and local governments in China helps new companies get into the market and their advice helps find funding, either directly, through its own investment fund, or indirectly, through Chinese investors.

TusPark UK’s strong relationship with national and local governments in China helps new companies get into the market and their advice helps find funding

Last year TusPark partnered with Innovate UK to run FORGE, the first UK-China accelerator programme, investing, incubating and bringing nine Internet-of-Things start-ups to Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao in China.

Barclays Eagle Labs accelerator has also signed an agreement with the TusPark Innovation Centre to help businesses scale up by offering access to mentors and advice in areas such as business planning, marketing, and product design. The Eagle Labs accelerator in TusPark Newcastle will be the 15th in the UK but the first in the north east.

“We are working very closely with TusPark to bring one of our Eagle Labs here to Newcastle, working to support scale up businesses here in the UK,” said Chris Forrest, Head of Barclays Business Bank UK. “Through the labs we are 100 percent committed to transforming the digital landscape of the UK. It is overdue to bring one of the labs to Newcastle.

“Tus could have gone to any other location to set up what they have here, but they didn’t, they came to Newcastle,” he said.

“Newcastle is a city which is no stranger to innovation,” said Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, at the launch of the Barclays Eagle Labs. “We know that innovation runs through our DNA. This was the place the steam locomotive was invented, the electric lightbulb was invented, and there will be many of these inventions shown at the Great Exhibition of the North later this year. Newcastle is a city which is really going places. TusPark’s arrival here is a symbol of the journey Newcastle is on as a city.”

Read more about China’s investment into the Leeds City Region

Read more about China’s investment into the North West

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