FIVE of the top research-based universities in the south of England are teaming up with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in a ground-breaking initiative that could unlock £20million of business investment into Basingstoke.

On Tuesday night, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s decision-making Cabinet approved awarding a £100,000 grant to SETsquared to create a business incubator in Basingstoke which will see support given to new hi-tech businesses across the borough.

In January, the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership identified Basingstoke as one of four key towns that would lead the economic growth in its area, along with Farnborough, Guildford and Woking.

A business incubator aims to speed up the growth and success of start-up and early-stage companies by providing them with access to valuable servi-ces and resources.

The hub, which will be based on the regenerated Basing View business complex, will provide a place where people can meet and network, and it will connect local entrepreneurs with experts and academics in the hi-tech field and with support services that help businesses start up.

SETsquared, which is a partnership between five leading research universities across the UK – the University of Bath, Bristol University, University of Exeter, University of Southamp-ton and the University of Surrey – is aiming to support the creation of 20 high-growth companies and a network of smaller growth companies across the district.

The partnership also aims to bring in £20million of new investment by 2016 by working with the borough council to unlock investment from funders including Enterprise M3, the UK Space Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

SETsquared has already approached the UK Space Agency, where bosses have expressed support for the proposal, as well as the University of Surrey, whose leaders have said they expect to provide financial support for the Basingstoke incubator to help with its work on developing 5G technology.

The partnership is already the top university business incubator in Europe, and its work has led to the creation of 8,500 jobs and it has attracted more than £1billion in investment.

Speaking before Tuesday’s meeting, borough council leader Councillor Clive Sanders told The Gazette: “We need to create thousands of new jobs for our growing population. It is important to attract existing businesses but essential that we also grow our own. We want to see new companies setting up home in our area and growing here.

“An incubation hub brings together people who have a good idea with those who have resources and money and those who have expertise in pulling it all together.

“Basingstoke is already recognised as one of the best places in the country to set up a hi-tech company. This is a great chance to go into partnership with one of the world’s top business development groups to bring exciting new opportunities to Basingstoke.”

SETsquared’s Innovation Director Simon Bond said: “We’re delighted to work with the council on this project to find and grow the next generation of tech start-up companies.

“This is one of the UK’s hotspots for technology innovation, and we’re looking forward to working with the people of Basingstoke and Deane to create more jobs and growth in the borough, building on the strong heritage of engineering and innovation.

“I’m certain that we’ll be a powerful partnership for the future.”