A Midland hub for the agricultural and equine sectors has joined a nationwide network of science and technology parks.

Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire is now in a portfolio of six parks assembled by LaSalle Investment Management, that will start operating as a single entity, linked by shared specialist services and access to nationwide facilities.

The formation of the BEST (Business Environments for Science and Technology) Network, creates high tech business clusters in sectors including energy and IT from Edinburgh to the south coast of England.

A ten-year £50 million investment programme is under way at Stoneleigh to create agri-science facilities.

Other parks include Edinburgh’s Technopole, Hexagon Tower in Manchester, Kent Science Park, Langstone Technology Park in Havant and Wilton Centre in Teesside.

Together the parks achieve a critical mass likely to be a powerful draw for international occupiers in the science and technology sectors, LaSalle said.

Andrew Bull, European director at LaSalle, a subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “Few businesses work well in isolation. They need support, flexibility and investment from a landlord.

“Inspiration is vital too and that comes from sharing ideas with other like-minded businesses.

“Make sure those factors are in place and we’ll be able to turn the great ideas coming out of the UK into great businesses.”

Stoneleigh, which has around 965,000 sq ft of commercial space, was acquired by LaSalle in December 2010 and accommodates more than 60 businesses which employ in excess of 1,100 people.