A growing West Norfolk start-up is the first to take one of four new business units built by the borough council on King’s Lynn Enterprise Park to support the local economy, investment and jobs.
Merxin, which supplies the pharmaceutical sector, has moved into the new larger office unit, off Nar Ouse Way, having outgrown business incubator space within the council’s award-winning King’s Lynn Innovation Centre, which is also based on the park.
This keeps 16 skilled jobs in the local area, allows the business to expand further and frees up room within the Innovation Centre for further local entrepreneurs – all within a modern, well-connected business park.
The borough council’s two new 5,000sqft speculative office units and two 10,000sqft light industrial units represent a £7m investment in the local economy, in partnership with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (now transferred to Norfolk County Council).
A new access road has also opened up significant further space for commercial development, with outline planning consent already in place. The 15-ha Enterprise Park is a strategic growth area for West Norfolk and Norfolk, with excellent links to the A17, A47 and A10, acting as a gateway to Norfolk, Cambridge and the Midlands, and direct rail services to London King’s Cross.
Graham Purkins, Chief Technology Officer at Merxin, said: “Merxin has grown from a single office in the King’s Lynn Innovation Centre to our own building, and this new space marks a major milestone for us.
“We design and manufacture innovative inhalers for the pharmaceutical industry, and having a facility tailored to our needs will allow us to expand further, invest in cutting-edge research, and create more high-skilled jobs in West Norfolk.
“The support from the council in developing this space has been invaluable, and we’re excited to continue our journey right here in King’s Lynn.”
Councillor Simon Ring, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business and Culture at the borough council, said: “Our investment in these great new units meets a local need for high quality, modern office and light industrial space in a well-connected location, supporting local skilled jobs, innovation and enterprise within King’s Lynn and Norfolk more widely.
“These units represent a big opportunity for business innovation and growth, and it’s great to hand over the keys of the first unit to Merxin – a truly home-grown West Norfolk business operating in a key local growth sector, that’s also a King’s Lynn Enterprise Park success story. This keeps skilled jobs locally and creates free space for those entrepreneurs on our waiting list for the Innovation Centre.”
Councillor Fabian Eagle, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth at Norfolk County Council added: “We know businesses need support to grow and Merxin illustrates the benefit of backing innovation. High-quality premises and superb connectivity are crucial if we are to encourage enterprise and provide the right conditions for growth and skilled local jobs and the Kings Lynn Enterprise Park delivers both.”
King’s Lynn Enterprise Park will be a multi-sector site focused on supporting high-growth and high-impact businesses to expand or relocate. The goal is to create a modern, connected employment space that builds on our region’s strengths, skills, and supply chains in advanced engineering, manufacturing, and agri-food, as well as emerging sectors such as medi-tech.
The site is a key part of the West Norfolk’s Economic Strategy to increase support for business start-up and scale-ups, of which manufacturing and advanced engineering is one of the most important growing and productive sectors in the West Norfolk economy. Visit kingslynnenterprisepark.co.uk for more.
Group photo (L-R) – Chris Hall (Merxin’s board chairman), Michael Cousens (Senior Inward Investment Manager at Norfolk County Council), Graham Purkins, (Merxin’s Chief Technology Officer), Cllr Simon Ring (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business and Culture at the borough council), Philippe Rogueda (Merxin’s co-founder CBO and director).
