Bristol welcomes new scale-up lab space as the UK’s top deep tech city outside the Golden Triangle

Science Creates and the University of Bristol to open OMX this March — 30,000 sq ft of flexible lab space ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 sq ft in Bristol city centre

Bristol, UK: 26 January 2026

OMX, a new 30,000 sq ft laboratory and scale-up facility in Bristol city centre, opens this March — offering flexible lab space for rent from 1,000 to 5,000 sq ft for deep tech startups and high-growth companies ready to scale.

Developed by Science Creates in partnership with the University of Bristol, and backed by Research England (part of UKRI), OMX is the third purpose-built deep tech incubator the partnership has delivered — following Science Creates St Philips in 2017 and Science Creates Old Market in 2021.

Together with this major expansion, these facilities now provide more than 75,000 sq ft of specialist lab space in Bristol city centre, creating one of the largest dedicated deep tech ecosystems in the UK outside the Golden Triangle.

Thanks to £8.5m funding, an existing industrial unit close to Bristol Temple Meads station has been retrofitted to create OMX and bring a further 30 high-spec labs to the region — placing spinouts, startups and scale-ups at the centre of the South West’s innovation infrastructure.

OMX will be located adjacent to the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, which is due to fully open later this year and which will be home to the Bristol Innovations Zone (BIZ) — a deep tech innovation gateway offering broader collaboration opportunities and support to businesses, including flexible co-working and event spaces, state-of-the-art equipment, labs, skills training, and access to world-leading research expertise.

A Bristol lab space that’s built for scale-ups

Unlike traditional incubators, OMX offers laboratory and office configurations designed specifically for companies moving beyond proof-of-concept and into commercial growth. Key deep tech areas of interest span quantum technology, engineering biology, advanced materials, climate tech and health innovation — all closely aligned with the University of Bristol's research strengths and the UK's Industrial Strategy priorities.

Rentable lab space at OMX ranges from 1,000 sq ft startup suites to 5,000 sq ft scale-up units, with flexibility to expand within the building as teams grow.

Facilities include:

• CL2-ready laboratories with flexible leases
• Shell-and-core lab units with custom fit-out options
• Integrated lab-office suites for growing teams
• High-specification power, data and ventilation infrastructure
• Access to meeting rooms, event space and shared facilities

Companies taking lab space at OMX join the wider Science Creates ecosystem and its community of more than 100 deep tech founders already based in Bristol. Its integrated approach — working closely with universities to support founders through investment, accelerator programmes, partnerships, events and skills development — is designed to strengthen startups’ journeys from academic research to real-world impact.

Addressing Bristol’s demand for lab space

Bristol offers deep tech companies world-class research from top universities, a strong and growing talent pipeline and access to specialist deep tech investors including SCVC. The opening of OMX fills a critical gap in the city’s scale-up infrastructure, providing a clear pathway from lab bench to commercial scale without leaving the region.

This pathway has long been missing from Bristol’s innovation ecosystem. Until now, many Bristol spinouts have been forced to relocate at a pivotal stage of growth, leaving the South West just as they begin to create skilled jobs and commercial impact. OMX has been designed to change this, tackling the long-standing shortage of suitable lab space and ensuring that ambitious high-growth companies can continue to scale in Bristol.

Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, said:

"When we opened our first incubator with Science Creates in 2017, Bristol ranked 20th in the UK for spinouts. Today we're 5th. That's what happens when you invest consistently in infrastructure, talent and a genuine partnership between university and industry. OMX is the next chapter — ensuring our best companies have room to scale here in Bristol, keeping talent, IP and long-term economic impact in the South West."

Dr Harry Destecroix MBE, Founder of Science Creates, added:

"We built OMX because we kept seeing the same problem — brilliant companies outgrowing their lab space and having to leave Bristol to find somewhere to scale. That shouldn't happen. With OMX, we can now offer deep tech companies a flexible home from early-stage R&D experiments through to commercial growth, all within one city centre ecosystem."

A decade of building the South West's deep tech cluster

Since its founding more than ten years ago, Science Creates has worked closely with the University of Bristol to create the infrastructure needed to turn world-class research into impactful businesses. As a result, Bristol’s spinout pipeline has grown significantly since opening the first lab space in 2017, with the region now established as a leading UK deep tech cluster.

Bristol is now home to more than 90 active university spinouts, which have collectively raised in excess of £700 million in the past two years alone. According to the 2025 European Spinout Report, published by Dealroom.co, the University of Bristol ranks fifth in the UK and tenth in Europe for life sciences and deep tech spinouts — and first in the UK for value created by quantum spinouts.

The Royal Academy of Engineering's State of UK Deep Tech 2025 report ranks Bristol as the top city outside the Golden Triangle for deep tech VC funding, with $761 million raised since 2020.

Enquire about Bristol’s new available lab space

OMX is scheduled to open in March 2026, offering a combination of startup and scale-up lab space in Bristol from 1,000 to 5,000 sq ft for deep tech companies planning their next stage of growth.

For more information and enquiries about lab space at OMX in Bristol, visit www.sciencecreates.co.uk/incubators/omx.