LIVERPOOL Science Park has welcomed 18 companies to its innovation campus since the beginning of the year.

The tenants, which range from well-established small firms to graduate start-ups, span a broad range of knowledge-based sectors including the creative industries, life sciences, ICT and software development.

They include web technology agency Instinctive Creations, venture capital firm SPARK Impact, which manages the £25m North West Fund for Biomedical, PR and marketing agency Active Profile and market development company Lead Creators.

Five businesses have taken space in the park’s recently-opened Graduate Enterprise Centre (GEC), a facility in Liverpool for graduates starting out in business.

The arrival of creative company, Shuttle Creative, design agency Edward Ridding Design, Richard Foulkes translation services, Chapel & Stone Estates and ALFA Imports brings the total number of companies in the GEC to 10.

Other companies to recently move into the park are web solutions company Yooka, retail internet specialists CommsPort, insurance and financial services specialists CBG Group, animation specialists Image Venture Mediaworks, education consulting company New Century Education Centre, TCL Telecoms and Impact Digital Solutions.

Liverpool Science Park’s chief executive, Chris Musson, said: “The park was created as a vehicle to nurture and support the city region’s commercial knowledge economy and to attract businesses into the city, and we are delighted to welcome this flurry of new companies into our community.

“We are constantly evolving our offering to cater for the needs of growing 21st-century businesses, be that through facilities such as our GEC and starter pods, through to our high- profile events programmes and industry-specific workshops.

“Not only are we attracting a broad range of industries, but it is particularly heartening to see start-ups and established firms organically forging new partnerships and exploring potential business opportunities among themselves.

“The arrival of these 18 organisations further enriches the Science Park community, and we wish them every success here.”

The lettings bring the total number of organisations based within the Park’s two innovation centres to 57.

Work is due to start in four weeks on the creation of 5,000 sq ft of commercial laboratories within Liverpool Science Park’s ic2 building on Brownlow Hill, with work expected to the completed by September.