Woodbourne Group acknowledged in 2023 Autumn Statement
Woodbourne Group Chief Executive Tani Dulay expressed enthusiasm for the recent announcement by the Chancellor regarding the establishment of Birmingham Knowledge Quarter as an Investment Zone and acknowledgement of Woodbourne Group’s anchor investment within it. This initiative designates the West Midlands as one of the 13 newly created zones across the country, set to receive substantial funding of up to £160 million over a decade, coupled with tax incentives and the retention of business rates.
Anticipated to yield the creation of around 30,000 jobs and attract up to £2 billion in investments, the Investment Zone places a strategic emphasis on sectors like green technologies, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing.
In response to this news, Dulay, along with other business leaders, conveyed his positive sentiments, emphasising that the Investment Zone designation underscores confidence in Birmingham’s global competitiveness. He remarked, “Woodbourne Group’s anchor investment in Birmingham’s Knowledge Quarter, acknowledged by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in today’s 2023 Autumn Statement, serves as a catalyst for neighbouring masterplans. The designation of this area as an Investment Zone reflects confidence in Birmingham and our ability to compete on the global stage. We’re looking forward to ensuring we make this one of the greatest knowledge clusters in the world’.
Additionally, the region received another boost with the commitment to the Single Settlement, granting significant control over spending in the West Midlands.
Expressing delight at these developments, West Midlands Mayor and Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Andy Street, commended the Chancellor’s ‘serious and substantial announcements’. Street noted that ‘It’s great news that we now have confirmation that our region will play host to an Investment Zone – incorporating sites from Wolverhampton to Birmingham to Coventry. This will turbo-charge the prospects of some of our key areas of strength including tech, advanced manufacturing, and green industries. Working alongside the outstanding research capabilities of our world-leading universities, this Investment Zone will enhance our ability to attract global companies to our region’
Woodbourne Group’s Curzon Wharf and Birmingham BioHub Masterplan, highlighted in this week’s Autumn Statement and granted planning permission in April, is a key catalyst within Birmingham Knowledge Quarter.
The Birmingham-Knowledge Quarter (B-KQ) is constituted as an affiliation of knowledge-driven organisations that wish to collaborate around a joint vision for the B-KQ as a collective prospect. Current members include HS2, Birmingham City University and Aston University. The partnership aims to connect its affiliates with common interests and experience, utilising the wisdom of the crowd to provide insight and thought leadership; and through the application of combined intellectual and physical assets deliver on all matters pertaining to sustaining a thriving knowledge economy in the Birmingham city region.
