Henry Boot arm appointed as Duxford AvTech development partner

(Sharecast News) - Henry Boot announced on Friday that its development arm, HBD, has been appointed as the development partner for Duxford AvTech, a £162m aviation technology campus planned at Imperial War Museums (IWM) Duxford in Cambridgeshire. The 25-acre site, located eight miles south of Cambridge within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, would deliver 435,000 square feet of space dedicated to advancing low- and zero-carbon aircraft technology.

It said the project was expected to achieve BREEAM Excellent and EPC A+ sustainability ratings, and would bring together academia, industry and government in a dedicated innovation cluster.

Henry Boot said the campus was projected to create 1,200 new jobs and generate an additional £64m in gross value added for the local economy.

Detailed development plans would be prepared ahead of a planning application targeted for submission before the end of the year.

"HBD's appointment at Duxford AvTech represents another important milestone for our property investment and development business," said chief executive officer Tim Roberts.

"This is a transformative scheme that will unlock meaningful opportunities for the local economy and further strengthen Cambridge's position as a global hub for research and innovation.

"We look forward to working alongside IWM and Gonville & Caius College to deliver this world-class advanced aviation technology cluster."

The project added to HBD's growing innovation-focused portfolio, following the recent approval of the first phase of its £1bn Golden Valley scheme in Cheltenham, which would include the 160,000 square foot National Cyber Innovation Centre and around 1 million sq ft of commercial space.

At 1135 BST, shares in Henry Boot were up 0.46% at 220p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.