SETsquared, the University of Bristol-backed innovation partnership, has been named the best in Europe at helping new businesses for the third year running.
The recognition came in the University Business Incubator (UBI) Index, which ranks Europe’s best performing university business incubators.
SETsquared, a partnership of the universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which has its Bristol centre in the Engine Shed innovation hub, has helped to generate more than £30m worth of investment for its companies in the last year. 
It specialises in growing hi-tech start-ups through its incubation programme and other business acceleration services, while also providing mentoring, access to investors and a wide range of industry experts through its network and training programmes.
Over the past 13 years SETsquared has helped more than 1,000 hi-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than £1bn of investment, as well as contributing more than £3.8bn in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy.
Bristol SETsquared centre director Nick Sturge, pictured, said: “It’s been another fantastic year for the Bristol’s SETsquared, with over £30m invested. Our first full year in the Engine Shed has seen us in the middle of a perfect storm – we’ve seen several tech corporates moving in to or expanding in the city-region as well as a raft of new accelerators and investment funds which all fuel business growth. As well as this, we’re seeing more university spinouts than ever before.
“We’re continuing to focus purely on the quality of the companies we support and the quality of the support we give them, regardless of where they originate from, and this is key to our success.”
The announcement took place at Turin’s Incubatore di Imprese Innovative del Politecnico di Torino at the end of a two-day event where SETsquared innovation director Simon Bond spoke to the continent’s top incubators on how university business incubators can accelerate growth.
Simon Bond said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to be recognised alongside other top performing incubators by the UBI Index once again. It’s a real testament to the hard work, innovation and skill of everyone at SETsquared and our commitment to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups.
“SETsquared has progressed hugely since last year’s ranking, including opening a new hi-tech hub in Basingstoke, running innovation programmes for the NHS and UK Space Agency and winning awards for the work we have been doing with our members, so it goes to show just how vital our services are in each area we operate in.”
The UBI Index is the first global index to benchmark the performance and best practice of university business incubators. The organisation is holding continental rankings around the world, culminating in a global ranking event in London next month.
UBI Global co-founder and director of research Dhruv Bhatli said: “We’re delighted to see SETsquared hit the top spot in Europe for the third time in a row. The partnership’s continued dedication to entrepreneurs and start-ups has resulted in high economic impact and growth for the companies it supports.”
SETsquared will find out where it stands in the world rankings on November 25.
