A new higher education institute in Milton Keynes

A chance to invest in MK:U, a new higher education institute for the digital economy, created with business and for business.

This is a chance to become a key partner in the creation of a university quarter in Milton Keynes, the UK’s fastest-growing city.

The project will provide education facilities, student accommodation, a conference centre, hotel and innovation hub, plus a living laboratory that showcases emerging technologies for smart urban living.

Location:

Milton Keynes

Investment type:

Capital investment - real estate

Sector:

(Greener buildings, Real estate, Residential, Retail, Leisure & creative, Science & innovation)

Project promoter:

Cranfield University and Milton Keynes Council partnership

Scale:

£375 million

Planning status:

Planning application to be submitted

Time to Final Investment Decision (FID):

6-12 months

Simon Sweetinburgh

Senior Investment Specialist

Contact the opportunity lead

Get in touch

Sector and market opportunity

MK:U is focussed on the needs of the future economy and filling skill gaps in new technologies (including artificial intelligence, robotics and cyber security). This is in line with the government’s plan for growth and ambition to be a science superpower.

MK:U seeks a partner with experience in business or university collaborations (such as science parks or innovation hubs), and who is keen to align their investments with government policy and the needs of the future economy.

Location

The site is centrally located on the last remaining undeveloped plot in the central Milton Keynes business and commercial district.

The site is listed for higher education under PlanMK.

MK:U will follow similar nearby developments being delivered by Santander and the council, with the overall goal of establishing a vibrant knowledge, innovation and cultural hub in the centre of Milton Keynes.

Connectivity

The location is a few minutes’ walk from Milton Keynes Central railway station on the West Coast main line between London and Scotland.

Milton Keynes is 30 minutes to London Euston by fast train. The closest airport, London Luton, is 30 minutes away. It’s about 1 hour 15 minutes by car to London Heathrow, London Stansted and East Midlands airports.

The site is approximately 5 miles from the M1, the UK’s main motorway between London, Birmingham (70 miles north of Milton Keynes) and the north of England.

Local talent and skills

This flagship project is strategically positioned in the centre of Milton Keynes, a ‘Smart City’ at the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.

The city’s aim to almost double in size to 500,000 people by 2050 has highlighted the need for an undergraduate university, as Milton Keynes is the largest urban area in the UK without its own residential university.

A pilot test is already under way, offering degree apprenticeships in management, digital technology, data science, and cyber security. An innovation programme for fast-track entrepreneurship will also be added next year when MK:U opens its innovation hub.

Research and expertise

The project is being led by Cranfield University under the MK:U undergraduate brand, filling skills gaps in new digital technologies including data science, artificial intelligence, robotics and cyber security.

Cranfield University is the UK’s only specialist postgraduate university in technology and management, and it has business, industry and government partnerships across the world.

MK:U already has a network of 114 active and engaged business supporters. Key partners include Santander UK, Milton Keynes Council, Grant Thornton and Rockwell Automation.

Further details

Built by business for business, MK:U is a new model university in the UK’s fastest-growing city, providing cross-disciplinary working in the faculties of:

business and entrepreneurship
design thinking
data and digital technologies
engineering and robotics

The project will be delivered in 3 phases spanning 15 years and ultimately aims to supply courses to over 15,000 students and business delegates each year.

Debt funding or a joint venture investment partner is being sought for phase 1, to deliver a diverse range of accommodation totalling 61,000 square metres (657,000 square feet), including:

faculty, teaching, research and lab space
1,000 student apartments
a 100-bed conference hotel
independent retail and other related services
an innovation centre

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) highlights

Architects are designing the buildings for MK:U to high BREEAM standards.

The surrounding campus will incorporate a number of green principles, such as maximising public transport, pedestrian and cycling access. And it’ll be run as a ‘smart site’ and living laboratory.

Promoters and partnerships

MK:U is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cranfield University, working closely with its strategic partners Milton Keynes Council and the Milton Keynes Development Partnership (development company of Milton Keynes Council and land provider for MK:U).

Governance for the project is arranged between Milton Keynes Council and Cranfield University on a partnership basis.

Grant funding from UK government has been applied for, whilst private companies such as Santander Bank have already invested (committed) £30 million into MK:U.

Local and national government support

The local authority, MK Council, is co-leading the MK:U project with cross-party support. MK Council appointed Cranfield University as the lead higher education provider and works closely in collaboration with it.

Funding for the current 2-phase pilot test has been provided by SEMLEP (the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) and match-funded by business.

Other opportunities

Heat networks in the North East and Tees Valley

Heat networks form an essential and significant part of the UK’s plan to reduce carbon emissions, and The North East and Tees Valley are primed to lead the UK in delivering this.

Tyne Clean Energy Park

An exciting opportunity to invest in the North East’s most versatile clean energy park at the Port of Tyne.

Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS)

Investment at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) focuses on re-energising Scotland’s local manufacturing base. Development opportunities include advanced manufacturing, aerospace and commercial offices. Investment opportunities include joint-venture partnerships.

Howbery Business Park in Wallingford, Oxfordshire

Creation of a centre of excellence for water, the environment and climate change, providing opportunities for collaboration across research, innovation and industry

Brent Cross Town

Brent Cross Town will be a new 1 million square metre (10 million square foot) mixed-use neighbourhood spanning 180 acres, with 50 acres of open space, parkland and playing fields.

Fawley Waterside

Fawley Waterside aims to be one of the first net zero smart towns in Europe; spread over 400,000 square metres, it will sit inside the proposed Solent Freeport.

Cardiff Central Quay

A 200,000 square metre mixed-use regeneration scheme adjacent to Cardiff’s Central station, in the heart of the capital city of Wales.

Bicester Motion in Oxfordshire

Bicester Motion is a 444-acre branded commercial and leisure destination, strategically located at the heart of the UK’s mobility and tourism industries.

Newtown Works in Ashford, Kent

A mixed-use town centre regeneration project offering world-class film studios, apartments and commercial space at a heritage site next to Ashford International Station.

Gravity

An immediate investment opportunity in a data-driven commercial development that’s focused on sustainability and clean growth.

Arden Cross in the Midlands

Arden Cross is a global destination for innovation, business, learning and living, across more than 140 hectares in Solihull in the West Midlands.

First Street in Manchester

A high-profile opportunity to invest in net zero commercial office space in the heart of Manchester City Centre.

Heath Park in Cheshire

A unique ethical investment opportunity for a mixed-use regeneration development, focused on market-leading green technology, at a thriving and successful business and technical park.

Purfleet-on-Thames

An opportunity to invest in a £1.3 billion development along the Thames Estuary – a creative hub and new town centre providing homes, film and TV studios and community and transport infrastructure.

Perth West in Scotland

A strategic opportunity for debt, equity investment, co-investment or development funding to develop a net zero eco innovation business park and city expansion.

Clyde Gateway Green Regeneration Innovation District (GRID) in Glasgow

Thinking globally, acting locally. Clyde Gateway's GRID integrates real estate and climate resilience in a '20-minute neighbourhood' near central Glasgow.

210616_1527-BelfastTransportHub_V15-with MSCP 1.png

Weavers Cross transport-led regeneration project in Belfast

Located alongside the largest integrated transport hub in Ireland, Weavers Cross is a 121,000 square metre regeneration project of mixed-use space.

Teesworks in North East England

Teesworks is a significant brownfield regeneration opportunity in the UK, with the largest and most connected industrial zone and diverse, sustainable and low-carbon activity.

The Waterside in Belfast, Northern Ireland

An opportunity to invest in a prime waterfront location in central Belfast – something that’ll cater for the office, hotel, serviced apartments, residential and private rental sectors.

Corporation Street and Tomb Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland

A substantial build-to-rent project in Belfast city centre, with a chance for early participation via different finance options - including equity share and traditional funding.

Harlow Innovation Park

This is an opportunity to forward fund or acquire future assets at the developing 10-hectare Harlow Innovation Park on an individual or multiple plot basis.

Kings Hall Life Sciences Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland

An opportunity to invest in the regeneration of Kings Hall Life Sciences Park. This project is a significant economic driver in the life sciences sector and it's already attracted government funding.

MIRA Technology Park, Southern Manufacturing sector in Warwickshire

A £260 million funding opportunity for occupier-led investment in the industrial sector with potential for a multi-phased development approach. The scheme provides rare, strategic and advanced manufacturing facilities with associated links to the extensive research and development infrastructure at MIRA.

Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Comprising of 75 hectares or 185 acres of prime waterfront land, this project is one of Northern Ireland’s most important regeneration enterprises.

The Sixth, Royal Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland

An opportunity to invest in a mixed-use, 250,000 square feet space that will serve the Grade A office, creative and technology sectors.

A new high-speed terminus in Birmingham Curzon

Several major investment opportunities exist around the development of a new high-speed terminus station in Birmingham city centre.

Norwich Union House, Belfast, Northern Ireland

A chance to invest early in a 7-storey, mixed-use project in Belfast. There’s a variety of finance options available, including equity share or traditional funding.

GatewayEast in Doncaster

A chance to invest in a world-class destination for research, innovation and living, where sustainable environments and international connectivity create an opportunity for communities to thrive.

Interchange Commercial District in Wolverhampton

A chance for developers and investors to get involved with the Interchange Commercial District area in Wolverhampton, via a range of investment and delivery structures.

East Midlands Freeport

The East Midlands Freeport is the UK’s only inland Freeport, with unparalleled connectivity across the country, to international cities, and home to a wide range of innovative sectors.

The Biosphere at Newcastle Helix

A unique opportunity for an investor-developer to partner with Newcastle City Council and accelerate growth in an established life science ecosystem.

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

A public-private partnership bringing South Yorkshire’s most innovative organisations in health, sports and wellbeing together in an actively managed ecosystem, to advance health outcomes and economic growth. Opportunity to invest in 4 foundation buildings as part of a 92,092 sqm (1m sqft) masterplan.

Speak to us

The government is identifying new projects across the whole of the UK. Investors who are interested in our projects can find out more by contacting us.