DOZENS of companies moved to Daresbury last year, according new figures.

A total of 26 new tenants were welcomed to Sci-Tech Daresbury, bringing the number of businesses at the science and innovation campus to around 140.

Businesses moving onto the site included Livful, NGPod Global, Daresbury Proteins, Quantum Science, Revivocell, Chemical Intelligence, Multilase, Imagin3d, Hosokawa Micron and G3G.

Sci-Tech Daresbury's Innovation Centre meanwhile welcomed Distinctive Medical, Grant Thornton, Microbi, Imosphere, Files.fm, Trigenex, Blackinetix, IntouchwithHealth, Autoscan, Coreshare, Unyte, Triangle Software, Blocktrack and Insource.

Also moving into the Innovation Centre was med-tech company C-Major Medical, which arrived on the site early into last year and would go on to secure patents for its innovative syringe technology in Europe, Japan and Taiwan.

Commercial director Steve Dobson said: "We moved in at Sci-Tech Daresbury in January 2018 and it was a very simple and rapid process for us – we were up and running within 48 hours.

"Prior to moving in at the Innovation Centre we’d been visiting Sci-Tech Daresbury’s business breakfasts for around six or seven years, and during that time we met a lot of useful contacts - many of which we continue to work with now.

"We've enjoyed many highlights over the last 12 months since our move to the campus, including being awarded the Investment Accelerator Grant Award and a convertible loan from UKI2S.

"This was a very significant milestone for us, because for the first time ever we had a seed fund investor who has a vested interest in us raising more funds and, crucially, with the contacts to assist us."

During 2018, the campus also had planning permission granted for its new 43,000sq ft Project Violet development.

Sci-Tech Daresbury chairman John Downes added: "C-Major Medical's arrival and subsequent success over the last 12 months is a fantastic example of a north west company leading the way in developing the next generation of novel technology for the med-tech sector here at Sci-Tech Daresbury.

"We were delighted to welcome the company to the Innovation Centre at the start of 2018, and since then we’ve enjoyed watching the business go from strength to strength.

"Our values of providing unique collaboration opportunities and scientific expertise and access to the world-class technical facilities and expertise create a special place for companies to develop and expand, which a further 25 companies are experiencing.

"Collaboration is key, and we continue to promote innovation between our tenants - from local SMEs to international businesses, academic institutions and the public sector.

"We're now looking forward to another busy year of growth ahead, with a number of companies already moving onto the site in January - and it’s our ambition that the campus will continue to develop and attract even more companies in 2019."