HiVE Places Leeds: SGI launches Innovation Platform

HiVE Places Leeds signs memoranda of understanding with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Nexus at the University of Leeds, and Leeds Beckett University as Scarborough Group International launches a new platform for health innovation environments

Scarborough Group International has launched HiVE Places, a new platform focused on developing and operating innovation environments across the UK, and has signed three memoranda of understanding with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Nexus at the University of Leeds, and Leeds Beckett University. HiVE Places Leeds launches with two seed assets – the Old Medical School in Leeds and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park – both focused on health technology. The platform is led by Deb Hetherington as chief operating officer and Mark Jackson as chief executive, combining ecosystem development expertise with real estate capability. SGI Chairman Kevin McCabe said the science, innovation, and technology economy will be one of the UK’s strongest engines of growth and that regions like West and South Yorkshire are exceptionally well placed to benefit.

Why This Matters For Leeds

The three MOUs connect HiVE Places to the same institutions that launched the £2 million Health Innovation Leeds Incubator last month and form the core of the £160 million West Yorkshire Healthtech Investment Zone. For Leeds’ health innovation ecosystem, this adds a property and ecosystem operator to a partnership already including Nexus, Leeds Beckett, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, and Leeds City Council.

What HiVE Places Leeds Will Do

HiVE Places combines Scarborough Group’s development and asset management expertise with dedicated ecosystem leadership. The platform is designed to create environments and support structures that enable organisations to collaborate more easily, access funding, and turn innovation into commercial and societal impact. Deb Hetherington said organisations consistently tell her the same thing: navigating the system is harder than innovating itself. Mark Jackson said too often developers provide the buildings but do not commit to the operating ecosystem that unlocks their potential, and that HiVE Places has been created to close that gap.

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“The UK is rich in talent research and ambition but organisations still tell me the same thing. Navigating the system is harder than innovating itself. HiVE Places is designed to remove that friction. By combining high-quality environments with curated partnerships and clear pathways to adoption we can help organisations move faster.”

— Deb Hetherington, Chief Operating Officer, HiVE Places

Connecting Leeds’ Health Innovation Infrastructure

The three MOUs formalise relationships with institutions already at the centre of Leeds’ health innovation ecosystem. Nexus is the University of Leeds’ £40 million global innovation community and hosts the Propel Healthtech scaleup programme. Leeds Beckett University operates a Sports Health Tech Incubator. Leeds Teaching Hospitals runs an Innovation Pop Up and is one of the UK’s largest research-active NHS trusts. Together, these three institutions launched the Health Innovation Leeds Incubator last month, funded by the West Yorkshire Healthtech Investment Zone, to support more than 70 healthtech businesses. HiVE Places Leeds adds the property development and ecosystem operation layer to that partnership. The Old Medical School and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park give the platform immediate scale, with a wider pipeline planned as HiVE expands nationally.