A GROWING science park at Sand Hutton, near York, has welcomed another fledgling technology business to the site.

Aptamer Diagnostics was started up in its owner’s terraced home, but is now looking to expand after winning more than £240,000 of funding from the Technology Strategy Board, and £29,000 worth of business support at Venturefest 2012 Yorkshire.

Aptamer’s chief executive, Dr Arron Tolley said he was looking forward to working alongside the internationally-renowned scientific community following the recent move to the Food and Environment Research Agency’s (FERA) Sand Hutton Applied Innovation Campus.

He said: “The Sand Hutton site is very well equipped and offers an excellent package for businesses like ours that are planning for rapid expansion. By developing our customer base and intellectual property before moving into commercial premises we avoided a costly loss making period.”

Fera chief executive, Adrian Belton, said: “There are scientific synergies between Fera and Aptamer Diagnostics which will provide opportunities for future collaboration. Today’s announcement is one of many plans currently in the pipeline to establish the campus as part of a larger hub for science and technology in the region which focuses on applied research delivering tangible benefit to society and the economy.

“We are currently in talks with other science-based companies who are also keen to make this their base.”

Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “It’s great to see a dynamic small company like Aptamer Diagnostics co-locating with a renowned organisation like Fera.

“Innovation is vital for business growth and this can best be achieved through collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and ideas. This move will benefit both organisations and we wish them well.”