Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

What Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park does

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is an 80-acre joint venture innovation campus in Sheffield, UK, established in 2015 as part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy. It is owned by Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Sheffield City Council, with Scarborough Group International (SGI) as development partner. The Park's stated purpose is to improve physical and mental health outcomes by co-locating research, clinical, sport, education, and commercial infrastructure on a single site. Direct operating headcount within the JV entity is 1–10 people, reflecting a lean coordination and asset-management model rather than a direct operator of all on-site activity.

The Park operates a platform-plus-venues model. Core physical assets include the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC, housing approximately 50 researchers in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University), Steel City Stadium (multi-purpose stadium with flexible workspace), Canon Medical Arena (2,500-seat arena with three basketball courts), English Institute of Sport Sheffield, Ice Sheffield, and the Advanced Food Innovation Centre. Commercial offerings comprise flexible workspace at Steel City Stadium (virtual office from £40+VAT/month, co-working from £19+VAT/day or £199+VAT/month, serviced offices from £250+VAT/month, and bespoke leased offices of 2,000–8,500 sq ft), venue and meeting room hire from £15+VAT/hour across six facilities, and three accelerator programmes: the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator, the Children's HealthTech Accelerator (KidsUP, delivered with Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, UP Ventures and Par Equity), and the Sports Tech Accelerator. A Sustainable Healthy Foods Accelerator is announced as coming soon.

The revenue model combines subscription-based workspace rentals, pay-as-you-go venue hire, and accelerator programme participation fees. Go-to-market is sales-led (direct enterprise and SME sales of workspace and venue hire) combined with event-driven demand generation through community events (Olympic Legacy in Action, Move More Month, British Transplant Games), which draw approximately 3,000 attendees annually. The Park currently houses 30+ tenant organisations including MediLink UK, UK NEQAS, and Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA, with anchor public-sector and academic partners providing the bulk of the ecosystem gravity. Capital structure is dominated by public-sector grants (£14m UK government AWRC funding in 2015, £4.9m Sheffield City Region Investment Fund in 2016), the Toshiba £1.5m equipment deal (2015), and SGI private investment exceeding £10m into Steel City Stadium plus £500k into the new workspace and café.

Name

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

Legal name

Legacy Park Ltd

Website

https://sheffieldolympiclegacypark.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is an 80-acre joint venture innovation campus in Sheffield, UK, offering flexible workspace, multi-venue hire, and health/sport accelerator programmes for startups and established organisations. Founded in 2015 as a London 2012 Olympic legacy, it co-locates research, clinical, sport, education, and commercial facilities on a single site.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation District and Flexible Workspace

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sport Complexes & Community Sports Parks (MPAKAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arenas & Indoor Sports Centers (MPAKAEAB), Training & Practice Facilities (Team Performance Centers) (MPAKAEAI)

Keywords

• Flexible office space
• Innovation campus
• Business accelerator programmes
• Venue hire services
• Health and wellbeing research

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Workspace and Office Rental: Revenue from flexible workspace packages including virtual office, co-working desks, serviced offices, and leased offices at Steel City Stadium. Pricing ranges from £40+VAT/month for virtual office to custom pricing for leased offices.
2. Meeting and Events Venue Hire: Revenue from renting out meeting rooms, conference facilities, and event spaces across multiple venues including Steel City Stadium, Canon Medical Arena, Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, English Institute of Sport Sheffield, and Ice Sheffield.
3. Accelerator Programme Fees: Programmes including AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator, Children's HealthTech Accelerator, and Sports Tech Accelerator provide R&D support to early-stage companies in exchange for programme participation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a mixed-use innovation campus that sells flexible workspace (virtual offices, co-working desks, serviced offices, and leased offices at Steel City Stadium), hires out meeting rooms and event spaces across multiple Park venues, and runs industry-specific accelerator programmes for startups in sport, health, and wellbeing. Its offerings are targeted at startups, spinouts, established organisations, and researchers seeking workspace, event venues, or growth support within a co-located ecosystem of elite sport, research, education, and clinical facilities.

Product overview

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a physical innovation campus and real estate development that functions as a platform-plus-venues architecture. The core offering consists of flexible workspace at Steel City Stadium (including virtual offices, co-working, serviced offices, and meeting spaces) and venue hire across multiple facilities (Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Canon Medical Arena, Steel City Stadium, English Institute of Sport Sheffield, Ice Sheffield, and Advanced Food Innovation Centre). The Park supports early-stage companies through three accelerator programmes: the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator for health and wellbeing companies, the Children's HealthTech Accelerator (KidsUP) for pediatric healthcare technology, and the Sports Tech Accelerator for sports technology startups. A Sustainable Healthy Foods Accelerator is planned. On-site amenities include a Performance Nutrition Café operated by Food Fusion. The Park serves as a hub connecting sport, health, wellbeing, education, and innovation communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workspace at Steel City Stadium Flexible workspace solutions for startups, spinouts, and organisations in sport, health, and wellbeing sectors, including virtual offices, co-working desks, serviced offices (teams of 2–24), and leased offices (2,000–8,500 sq ft). Pricing starts from £40+VAT/month for virtual office and £19+VAT/day or £199+VAT/month for co-working.
• Performance Nutrition Café On-site café at Steel City Stadium operated by Food Fusion Nutrition, providing fresh, nutritious meals and snacks to support focus, recovery, and wellbeing for Park occupiers and visitors. Open to the public with exclusive offers for workspace members.
• Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (Venue Hire) Hire of executive board room, meeting rooms, lecture theatre, and education/training hub located within the AWRC research facility at the Park.
• Canon Medical Arena Venue Hire Multi-purpose venue offering meeting rooms, classroom space, and a three-court basketball arena with 2,500 spectator seats, available for community, sports, and corporate events.
• Steel City Stadium Venue Hire Multi-purpose stadium offering flexible meeting and event spaces accommodating various formats and durations. Serves as the Park's headquarters building and hosts tenants including training providers.
• English Institute of Sport Sheffield Venue Hire Sports facility offering meeting rooms, configurable seminar rooms, sports halls, and an indoor athletics track for corporate and community events.
• Ice Sheffield Venue Hire Olympic-standard twin-pad ice arena with meeting rooms and spaces suitable for conferences, exhibitions, and team building activities, with Don Valley Bowl nearby.
• Advanced Food Innovation Centre Venue Hire Flexible meeting room and exhibition space alongside industry-standard food and drink processing and manufacturing facilities, supporting Sheffield Hallam University's food systems capabilities.
• AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator R&D-focused accelerator programme supporting pre-revenue and early-stage companies developing products or services with health and wellbeing applications, hosted at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre.
• Children's HealthTech Accelerator (KidsUP) 12-week accelerator programme for startup companies with innovative healthcare technology solutions for children and young people, delivered by Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust with UP Ventures and Par Equity. Includes pitch opportunities to international VC investor groups.
• Sports Tech Accelerator Accelerator programme for founders of sports technology start-ups creating products or services that improve sporting performance, reduce injury risk, or improve enjoyment and participation in sport.

Quantifiable outcome

• Olympic Legacy in Action event attracts 3,000+ visitors annually, demonstrating strong community engagement and impact.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HiVE PlacescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026New independently operated platform launched by SGI focused on developing next-generation innovation environments. Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is one of two founding seed assets alongside Old Medical School in Leeds.
• Lynx Training AcademyminorOthers · 1 January 2026NHS-approved training provider for Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on learning disability and autism, operating from Steel City Stadium facilities.
• MencapminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership with Lynx Training Academy to embed experts with lived experience as professional co-trainers for disability and autism training.
• Opportunity SheffieldminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partner in Lynx Training Academy delivery, supporting workforce development in health and social care.
• Empower, Access, ThriveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partner in Lynx Training Academy delivery, supporting inclusive training and community inclusion.
• Food Fusion NutritionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Operates the performance nutrition café at Steel City Stadium, providing fresh, nutritious meals and snacks to support focus, recovery, and wellbeing for Park occupiers and visitors.
• UP VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Accelerator specialist delivering the Children's HealthTech Accelerator programme in partnership with Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.
• Westfield HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Tier one sponsor of the AWRC, providing support for health and wellbeing research initiatives at the Park.
• ToshibacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015£1.5m equipment deal with Toshiba for the AWRC. Toshiba provides cutting-edge healthcare technology including diagnostic imaging systems and wearable biosensors for physical activity research.
• Scarborough Group International (SGI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSGI is the development partner for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, having invested over £10 million in Steel City Stadium and £500,000 in the new workspace and café. SGI launched HiVE Places, a new platform for high-value innovation environments, with Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park as a founding asset.
• Sheffield Hallam UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner and operator of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC). Conducts world-leading physical activity research and innovation at the Park.
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner in Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, bringing healthcare expertise and clinical research capabilities to the ecosystem.
• Sheffield City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner providing local government support and community engagement for the Park development.
• MediLink UKminorOthersHealthcare technology innovation support organisation, tenant at Steel City Stadium workspace.
• UK NEQASminorOthersHealthcare quality assessment organisation, tenant at Steel City Stadium workspace.
• English Institute of Sport SheffieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld-class sports facility within the Park boundaries, providing elite training and competition facilities alongside community access.
• Ice SheffieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOlympic-standard twin-pad ice rink within the Park, offering sporting facilities and public ice activities.
• Yorkshire Sport FoundationminorOthersActive Partnership covering South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, based at the Park. Delivers Sport England's Uniting The Movement strategy and Move More programme for Sheffield.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Scarborough Group International: Real-estate developer behind Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and founder of the HiVE Places platform. Included as the parent development partner rather than a competitor — its strategic decisions directly shape SOLP's expansion trajectory.

Direct peers

• Manchester Sportcity: Eastlands-based multi-sport complex built around the 2002 Commonwealth Games legacy, including the Etihad Campus and National Squash Centre. Comparable as a multi-sport complex with community, elite, and event programming on a single site.
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: The primary London 2012 Olympic legacy park, operated as a mixed-use innovation and cultural district in Stratford. Directly comparable as a public-sector-led Olympic legacy development combining workspace, sports venues, research institutions, and residential/commercial real estate.
• Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park: Sport-science-anchored innovation campus adjoining Loughborough University — a UK centre of excellence for sport and exercise research. Directly comparable as a sport-and-health innovation park combining research, workspace, and elite sport facilities.

Emerging players

• BioCity Nottingham: UK health and life-sciences incubator offering lab and office space plus accelerator programmes. Comparable as a UK regional health-innovation hub combining workspace and startup programmes, though smaller-scale and less sports-oriented.
• Discovery Park (Sandwich): Privately operated life-sciences and innovation campus in Kent, offering workspace, labs, and accelerator support. Comparable as a UK innovation campus monetising workspace plus research ecosystem, though life-sciences focused.

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge Biomedical Campus: Europe's largest biomedical research cluster, co-locating the University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, AstraZeneca, and numerous life-sciences tenants. Comparable as a research-and-clinical-anchored health innovation district, though life-sciences rather than sport/wellbeing focused.
• White City Innovation District: Imperial College-anchored innovation district in West London combining research, workspace, and mixed-use development. Comparable as a UK health/life-sciences innovation campus with strong university and corporate partnerships, though London-centric.
• Surrey Research Park: University of Surrey-adjacent innovation campus offering workspace, labs, and conferencing. Comparable as a UK university-anchored innovation park with mixed tenants, though broader in sector focus.

Regional players

• Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport: Manchester-based sport research and innovation institute within Manchester Metropolitan University. Comparable as a UK sport-science research and innovation cluster, though academic rather than a multi-venue campus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sheffieldolympiclegacypark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sheffield-olympic-legacy-park
• Instagraminstagram.com/sheffieldolympiclegacypark
• Xx.com/olpsheffield

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park