11th February 2010

PICTURE CAPTION: Back, from the left, Jon Bell (Yorkshire Bank) and Dr Glenn
Crocker (BioCity). Front, from the left, Nick Parsons (National Australia Bank) and Carl Dickinson (Yorkshire Bank)

A leading economist told medical and pharmaceutical companies in Nottingham that their industry is the best positioned to benefit from global economic recovery and to lead the UK out of recession.

Speaking at the official launch of Yorkshire Bank’s corporate partnership with BioCity, Nick Parsons gave the positive news to about 50 businesses at the bioscience business incubator in Pennyfoot Street.

Nick, head of markets strategy in Europe at National Australia Bank which owns Yorkshire Bank, said companies in the bio-science sector are strategically placed to have a huge opportunity to increase its global market share.

He said: “There has been a massive growth in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors in the UK’s share of world markets. This is one of Britain’s real success stories and it shows the way forward for other sectors.

“Pharmaceutical and medical and scientific equipment is the place to be right now because they are the most sensitive to world recovery and their businesses are going to grow more quickly.

“If you are going to be in a particular sector this is the one to be in because almost seven per cent of the UK’s exports are in the pharmaceutical sector.

“Yorkshire Bank is happy to be associated with at BioCity. Good news stories are rare at the moment but I think this sector along with the manufacturing industry is well positioned to take advantage of the growth in world trade.”

Dr Glenn Crocker, BioCity chief executive, said the corporate partnership with Yorkshire Bank would enable companies with BioCity to become even more successful through the financial advice and support the bank can provide.

“I have been working with Yorkshire Bank for over a year and I was really keen that they became a corporate partner because I have seen how well they work and how well aligned they are to the BioCity companies,” he said. “I am sure this will be the start of a very productive relationship.”

Carl Dickinson, managing partner of Yorkshire Bank’s Financial Solutions Centre in
Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham, added: “We are really looking forward to developing this relationship and supporting the growth of bioscience companies with BioCity.

“We will do that by providing bespoke financial services and advice from our local base in Nottingham”

For further information, please contact:
Adam Dent/ Michelle Wilson / Pete Squires
Advent Communications
adent@advent-communications.co.uk / mwilson@advent-communications.co.uk / psquires@advent-communications.co.uk
02476 633636
07785 594415

Financial Solutions Centres
Financial Solutions Centres (FSC) focus on the communities in which they operate. Each of the UK-wide network of 72 FSCs offers a tailored range of business and private banking services under one roof. A team of specialist partners provide customers with end-to-end solutions for all of their banking needs. Each customer benefits from the in-depth expertise of a dedicated relationship partner who takes the time to get to know them and their business and is able to make fast, local decisions. In addition to banking services, the FSCs also operate as a hub for local business, with a range of networking opportunities and meeting facilities available as a benefit of membership.

BioCity Nottingham
BioCity Nottingham provides business support, finance, labs & offices to bioscience, pharmaceutical, med-tech & healthcare companies. It operates one of Europe’s largest bioscience business centres, which is currently home to nearly 70 fast-growing companies, including R&D and business support services.
BioCity invests in early stage life science companies through its subsidiary, Mobius Life Sciences (launched in October 2009), which is the first investment fund in the Midlands region dedicated to the life sciences sector. www.mobiuslifesciences.com
BioCity was founded by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and East Midlands Development Agency. http://www.biocity.co.uk