Innospace

What Innospace does

Innospace is a university-affiliated business incubation space operated by Manchester Metropolitan University, headquartered at Turing House, 5 Archway, within Manchester Science Park in Manchester, UK. The organisation provides flexible managed workspace solutions — hot desks, permanent desks, private offices, and virtual office licenses — alongside a structured portfolio of business support services aimed at entrepreneurs, SMEs, and corporates. Its core offerings include a bi-annual Business Start-Up Boot Camp, one-to-one mentoring, Santander Universities Entrepreneur Grants, grant funding of up to £1,500 for early-stage start-ups, and an innovation support track that provides up to £5,000 in funding for businesses to access academic expertise, plus 50% co-funded research project support for SMEs collaborating with Manchester Met academics. The technology layer is operational rather than proprietary: Innospace does not develop its own software products but rather serves as an intermediary platform connecting member businesses to the university's specialist technical facilities, research base, and graduate talent pool.

The business model is hybrid, combining recurring subscription revenue from workspace rental (with discounted rates for current Manchester Met students and graduates) with grant-funded support programmes. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging Manchester Metropolitan University's internal communications, the RISE programme, and a calendar of boot camps, masterclasses, and networking events to attract participants. Customer segmentation spans current students and recent graduates (primary), early-stage start-ups, SMEs seeking R&D collaboration, and large corporates/multi-nationals accessing knowledge exchange and industrial research partnerships. The geographic footprint is limited to Greater Manchester with services delivered from a single physical site at Turing House. Innospace holds no independent legal entity status, has no disclosed funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no public revenue figures, operating instead as a mission-aligned unit of its parent public university.

From a competitive positioning standpoint, Innospace's principal differentiators are its deep institutional integration with Manchester Metropolitan University — including access to Triple Crown-accredited business school expertise, world-leading research (30% rated as such per the Research Excellence Framework 2021), and a continuous pipeline of graduate talent — and its long-standing tenure as one of the city's longest-running commercial incubators within Manchester Science Park. The organisation's strategic value is therefore best understood not as a standalone venture but as an extension of Manchester Met's entrepreneurship and innovation mission, supported by a core financial partnership with Santander Universities.

Name

Innospace

Legal name

Innospace

Website

https://innospace.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Innospace is Manchester Metropolitan University's business incubator, offering flexible workspace, startup mentoring, grant funding, and access to academic research expertise for students, graduates, SMEs, and corporates in Greater Manchester.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation Services

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workplace Technology & Smart Office Support (Room Booking Systems, IT/AV Liaison) (IMAIALAK), Entrepreneurship, Business & Innovation Camps (EDAMALAL)

Keywords

• Business incubation services
• Startup workspace rental
• University innovation support
• Entrepreneur mentoring programmes
• SME research funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Workspace Rental: Innospace generates revenue through rental of managed workspace including hot desks, permanent desks, private offices, and virtual licenses. Pricing appears to be subsidised for students and graduates as part of the incubation support.
2. Business Support Programmes: Revenue is partially derived from grant-funded support programmes. Santander Universities Entrepreneur Grants provide funding to eligible participants. The organisation also facilitates access to up to £5,000 funding for businesses to access academic expertise for innovation projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Innospace is Manchester Metropolitan University's business incubation space, providing managed workspace (hot desks, permanent desks, private offices, and virtual office licenses) alongside structured startup support programmes including Business Start-Up Boot Camps, mentoring, and grant funding (Santander Entrepreneur Grants and up to £1,500 startup grants). It also offers innovation support services for SMEs and corporates, providing access to academic research expertise, specialist university facilities, up to £5,000 in innovation funding, and up to 50% co-funding for collaborative research projects with Manchester Metropolitan University academics.

Product overview

Innospace is Manchester Metropolitan University's business incubation space offering a unified ecosystem of workspace solutions and business support services. The portfolio consists of flexible workspace options (Hot Desk, Permanent Desk, Office, Private Workspace, and Virtual Licensee) that form the physical foundation, complemented by comprehensive start-up acceleration programmes including the Business Start-Up Boot Camp, grant funding (£1,500 for start-ups, £5,000 for innovation projects), and a mentoring programme. The offering extends to SME innovation support with up to 50% research funding for collaborative projects with academics, access to specialist facilities and graduate talent, and a continuous events/masterclasses programme covering business skills and sector-specific topics. All services interconnect through the shared platform of the Turing House campus location, enabling businesses to combine workspace with academic collaboration, funding access, and community networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hot Desk Workspace Flexible pay-per-use desk workspace at Turing House, Manchester Science Park, providing individuals and businesses occasional access to professional office facilities with discounted rates for current Manchester Metropolitan University students and graduates.
• Permanent Desk Workspace Dedicated personal desk space for businesses, entrepreneurs, and graduates requiring consistent full-time workspace at Turing House, Manchester Science Park, with discounted rates for current Manchester Met students and graduates.
• Private Office Workspace Private enclosed office space for teams or businesses seeking their own dedicated workspace environment at Turing House, Manchester Science Park.
• Virtual Licensee Service Virtual office license providing businesses with a Manchester business address and access to facilities without the requirement of physical desk space.
• Business Start-Up Boot Camp A two-day intensive programme delivered bi-annually in June and November that covers the building blocks of setting up a successful business, providing participants with support, advice, resources, and guidance, and offering access to up to £1,500 in start-up grant funding.
• Entrepreneur Mentoring Programme One-to-one mentoring programme pairing entrepreneurs with experienced mentors to address key business challenges, available to Boot Camp attendees and other participants in Innospace startup support.
• Innovation Support Service Specialist advisory service for SMEs and larger organisations that establishes innovation project readiness, identifies top challenges, and creates a route-to-market plan to full launch and commercialisation, with up to £5,000 funding to access academic expertise, research, and specialist facilities.
• Corporate Knowledge Exchange & Industrial Research Collaboration services pairing public and private organisations of all sizes, from SMEs to multinationals, with Manchester Metropolitan University academic expertise and ground-breaking research to address real-world problems and develop industry-leading solutions.
• SME Research Co-Funding Funding arrangement enabling SMEs to secure up to 50% of research project costs to develop early-stage ideas in collaboration with leading academics at Manchester Metropolitan University.
• Santander Universities Entrepreneur Grants Grant funding delivered through a partnership with Santander Universities for eligible Manchester Metropolitan University students and graduates attending Boot Camp, supporting entrepreneur-led ventures and including entry to the Santander Universities UK Entrepreneur Award pitching events.
• Specialist Facilities Access Access to Manchester Metropolitan University specialist technical facilities and equipment for businesses requiring extra resources or specialist technical capabilities they cannot easily procure elsewhere.
• Graduate Talent Access Recruitment service providing businesses with access to talented Manchester Metropolitan University graduates for permanent or project-based hiring to support growth and scaling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports over 100 students and graduates annually to start or grow businesses
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SETsquared Partnership: University-affiliated business incubator network spanning Surrey, Bath, Bristol, Southampton, and Exeter. Closest UK analogue to Innospace's model of combining workspace, startup programmes, and academic expertise within a higher-education setting.
• BioCity (now part of Pioneer Group): UK life-sciences and innovation hub originating at a Nottingham university site, offering lab and office space plus business support to start-ups and SMEs. Direct comparator on the university-linked life-sciences/incubator model.
• Oxford Innovation: UK operator of university and innovation-centre programmes including the Oxford Trust ecosystem. Directly comparable to Innospace as a university-linked workspace and incubation provider serving start-ups and SMEs.
• Manchester Science Park (operator): Hosts Innospace at Turing House; runs its own innovation and workspace programmes for tech and science SMEs. Comparable as a Greater Manchester science-park operator with overlapping tenant base.
• University of Manchester Innovation Factory: University of Manchester's tech-transfer and startup incubator operating in the same city as Innospace, providing workspace, IP commercialisation, and graduate startup support. Direct peer in university-affiliated incubation in Greater Manchester.

Broad incumbents

• Wayra (Telefónica Open Innovation): Corporate-backed global accelerator investing in and supporting start-ups linked to enterprise customers. Comparable as an open-innovation platform blending corporate sponsorship with startup incubation.
• Barclays Eagle Labs: Nationwide network of co-working innovation hubs with corporate backing, offering workspace, mentoring, and startup events. Broader incumbent that competes with university incubators for the same early-stage cohort.
• NatWest Accelerator (Entrepreneur Accelerator / Entrepreneur Hub): UK bank-run accelerator and workspace offering mentoring, networking, and growth-stage support. Direct overlap with Innospace's Boot Camp/mentoring-style programmes on a national bank-backed footprint.
• Tech Nation (now DCMS-backed Founders' Programme): National UK accelerator/incubator network supporting digital and deep-tech start-ups through programmes, events, and ecosystem content. Broader incumbent with overlapping entrepreneur development programmes.

Emerging players

• Cambridge Judge Business School / Cambridge Enterprise Accelerate: University of Cambridge's accelerator and entrepreneurship programmes for founders and SMEs, including the Judge Business School ecosystem and Cambridge Enterprise ventures. Comparable higher-education-driven incubation model, though at a much larger research budget scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Innospace
• Facebookfacebook.com/InnospaceMMU

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Innospace