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Howard de Walden Estate invests £52m in new Healthtech hub at Harley Street

2025-04-13 00:44:07 By

The Howard de Walden Estate has made a significant move in its healthcare innovation strategy with the announcement of a £52m investment into a new Healthtech hub at Hale House.

In collaboration with Spacemade, the provider of flexible workspaces, the Estate expressed its intention to transform the Harley Street Health District into the premier international hub for health technology and innovation, as reported by City AM.

The upcoming development at Portland Place will encompass three redesigned buildings, all tailored to accommodate health start-ups, investors, and venture capitalists.

UCLPartners, a leading UK health innovation organisation, is set to be the anchor tenant at Hale House, taking up residence on the first floor of 76 Portland Place.

Chris Laing, Chief Executive of UCLPartners, commented: "Our new base will help us connect the health technology and life science sectors with healthcare providers, patients, and the public, developing novel solutions that will define the healthcare of the future".

The healthcare behemoth has reaffirmed its dedication to fostering innovation within the healthcare industry.

The £52m investment by Walden is part of a wider plan to rejuvenate the reputation of Harley Street.

This initiative signifies a turning point for the area, which has been synonymous with healthcare since the 1860s.

It aims to integrate traditional healthcare services with the latest in tech-driven health sectors, creating a comprehensive hub that merges preventative services, clinical care, and Health Tech under one roof.

Mark Kildea, the Chief Executive of Walden, has described the Hale House project as a "key step forward" in creating an integrated health district that aligns with the changing needs and trends within the sector.

Hale House is set to be designed with collaboration at its core, featuring flexible spaces and various facilities.

These spaces are projected to accommodate over 600 individuals and aim to meet high sustainability standards such as BREEAM Excellent.

Richard North, the Head of Commercial Lettings at Walden, stated that this was part of "Howard de Walden's commitment to the highest standards in design, social impact and sustainability" through innovation.

Jonny Rosenblatt, Co-founder of Spacemade, labelled it as "the UK's most collaborative HealthTech cluster".

He expressed his belief that industry-specific spaces like this are crucial for connecting HealthTech minds and driving healthcare transformation in a rapidly evolving generation.

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Coding school to create new edtech jobs in Birmingham

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UK fintech funding races ahead of Europe as sector looks for 2025 rebound

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Newcastle property firm iamproperty to create 100 jobs over coming months

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Google faces UK antitrust probe in crackdown on Big Tech dominance

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Tyneside tech firm Leighton moves to new city centre offices

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Dyson to move workforce out of Bristol and scrap tech hub plans

Engineering giant Dyson is planning to move its workforce out of Bristol and is scrapping plans for a tech and research hub in the city - despite investing £100m in a new building. The company, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, will relocate 180 staff to its large campus in Wiltshire. It will mean all of Dyson's South West employees are based in one location. Dyson's Malmesbury base is home to the Dyson Institute, where 185 undergraduate and postgraduate engineers study while working for the company. The move comes despite a major investment by Dyson into a previously planned research and development hub in Bristol. The company, which currently rents office space on College Green, purchased and carried out a top-to-bottom refurbishment of 1 Georges Square in Finzels Reach last year. The £100m Bristol research centre, first announced in 2023, was expected to employ hundreds of extra AI and software engineers as well as the global tech firm’s commercial and e-commerce teams for Great Britain and Ireland. It is understood that Dyson staff will no longer move into the building, but will relocate to Malmesbury instead. The Finzels Reach office block, which is owned by the Dyson family, will be rented out to another employer. Although no date has been set for the relocation to Wiltshire, Business Live understands it will be in spring when the lease on Dyson's rented office expires. Staff members will be given support with the commute to Malmesbury, about 45-minutes' drive away. The news comes less than a year after Dyson announced plans to cut a third of its UK workforce as part of global restructuring. Dyson's chief executive Hanno Kirner said last year the review would ensure the business was "prepared for the future". The campus at Malmesbury was Dyson's head office until 2019 when founder Sir James Dyson moved the company's HQ from the UK to Singapore. The billionaire tycoon has long been a critic of the UK's economic policies and made the decision post-Brexit to move Dyson's headquarters closer to its manufacturing sites and supply chains. Asia also has a free trade agreement with the European Union. Last year, Sir James and his family were revealed to be the richest people in the West of England despite experiencing a fall in their wealth of £2.2bn over the year. According to the Sunday Time Rich List, Britain’s best-known inventor had a fortune of £20.8bn in 2024 - down from £23bn in 2023.

Newcastle lab grown leather specialist BSF secures £50,000 funding to begin manufacturing

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County Durham firm braves Dragons' Den in bid to secure investment

A County Durham couple will become the latest regional business to brave the Dragons’ Den this week. Zara Paul and Aaron Morris are the founders of Choppity, a Belmont Business Park company behind a web-based AI video editing platform which is set to appear on the new series of the BBC pitching programme on Thursday in a bid to secure investment for their start-up. The co-founders and married couple only launched Choppity in 2023 with a vision to simplify the video-editing process for podcasters and businesses. The platform, which was founded in Durham, is already used in production by companies including ITN, Autotrader, Turtle Bay, and Sonatype, with features including AI subtitles, in which Choppity instantly adds subtitles to podcast clips, and Magic Reframe, which instantly turns a landscape podcast into a portrait or square one to make sure every speaker’s face can be seen. Before taking on the Dragons, the pair said their number one target for investment was entrepreneur and host of one of the world’s most listened-to podcasts, Diary of a CEO, Steven Bartlett. Zara proudly represents the LGBTQ+ community as an openly non-binary contestant, and said the experience was “important and deeply personal”. Zara said: “It was an unforgettable moment to be in that room, presenting something we’ve worked so hard on. The setup felt incredibly stripped back - just the two of us and a screen in front of the five established entrepreneurs. It was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. “The startup world, and the media more broadly, often feel bare of LGBTQ+ representation, especially for gender non-conforming and trans founders. I hope this moment inspires others to pursue their ambitions and know they belong here too.” In a LinkedIn post the firm said: “After months of secrecy, we’re so excited to finally reveal the news. Watch the episode this Thursday 16th January, 8pm on BBC 1 to find out what the Dragons thought of Choppity. For those that have been following our company’s journey for a while, I hope you have fun watching this episode! “We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to showcase Choppity on a national stage. To all of our users, customers and supporters, thank you for helping us get here.”

2025 predictions for Apple, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and other tech titans - what to expect

The 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, namely Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, saw a combined growth of 63 per cent in 2024, building on the strong performance of 2023. Deutsche Bank disclosed that these companies generated more profit in 2024 than most national stock markets, as reported by City AM. However, JP Morgan has predicted a decline in their contribution to S&P 500 earnings growth from 75 to 33 per cent in the coming year, indicating potential challenges. Will they maintain their market dominance this year? Here's an analysis of their prospects for 2025: Apple, a much-loved brand, reported robust sales in 2024, with its privacy features and ecosystem retaining customer loyalty. However, service growth fell short of expectations, and innovation in hardware seemed subdued. Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, suggests that the company's focus on AI could steer it in a new direction in 2025. Despite a five per cent cumulative revenue growth over the past three years, the consensus is for seven per cent growth in 2025, keeping expectations high. However, its stock has only risen 41 per cent over the past three years, underperforming the 51 per cent increase in the information technology index. Microsoft, meanwhile, cemented its place at the heart of the AI revolution in 2024, with Azure revenue up by 34 per cent, as per Streeter. The integration of AI tools like Copilot across its software suite has impressed analysts. In the forthcoming year, cloud computing competition and increased regulatory scrutiny could challenge its growth trajectory, yet the discontinuation of Windows 10 support might trigger an upgrade cycle, according to Dan Niles, founder of AlphaOne Capital Partners. He recently expressed on LinkedIn that the termination of Windows 10 "could also lead to some upgrades in their core PC business while a ramp in AI PC demand is a hope for some point in the future". Amazon's Cloud AWS remained a key growth driver in 2024, with a 19 per cent revenue increase as global AI adoption soared. E-commerce margins saw a rebound following the company's cost-reduction strategies. Streeter noted, "margins have recovered after the huge cost-saving drive with worldwide layoffs." Amazon may emerge as the top performer for 2025, having surpassed both revenue and margin expectations in the latest quarter. However, Nile pointed out the potential for a challenging start to 2025 due to uncertain consumer spending patterns, fewer shopping days, and less favourably timed holidays. For Meta, the tech behemoth's strategic downsizing yielded positive results in 2024, evidenced by a five per cent increase in daily active users. Its investment in AI has improved ad targeting and content curation, bolstering advertiser trust. Yet, the question remains whether Meta can maintain its growth momentum into 2025 without the previous year's tailwinds from political elections or major events like the Olympics, which had contributed to heightened user engagement. "If its revenue doesn’t keep up", warned Streeter, "margins may come under pressure, deterring its investors". Alphabet, the parent company of Google, also posted strong results in 2024, driven by its cloud business and AI advancements. However, the ongoing case by the US Department of Justice against Google’s search monopoly casts a shadow over the firm’s 2025 outlook. Sundar Pichai, the Chief Executive, highlighted the importance of utilising AI to accelerate progress and solve real-world problems. The company made headlines towards the end of 2024, as Pichai prepared his employees for an important, "pivotal" year ahead, while also alerting them to potential challenges. Tesla begins to lose momentum. Tesla experienced a surge of optimism in 2024, with its stock increasing by 63 per cent, partially due to Elon Musk’s advisory role in the Trump administration. However, a decrease in EV demand and the potential loss of tax credits in 2025 could impact the company’s sales. Therefore, Tesla's ability to scale production of its affordable electric vehicles and expand self-driving capabilities will be crucial for 2025. Nvidia was largely the leader of the Magnificent Seven group in 2024, overtaking Apple as the world’s most valuable company with its shares rising by 171 per cent amid surging AI demand. Despite taking a slight hit at the end of 2024, according to Investopedia, the firm’s sales and earnings flourished. Moreover, Nvidia's Blackwell super chip and dominance in AI infrastructure are positioned for continued growth in 2025.