Life sciences investment hits new high in OxCam Arc

Total investment volumes for life science-related real estate across Oxford and Cambridge hit a new record last year, data from Savills has found. The Knowledge Arc recorded a year-end figure of £1.65bn, up by £50m on 2021. Oxford and Cambridge both broadly sustained their transactional activity in 2022, with the most notable deals in those locations featuring L&G’s sale of 194-198 Cambridge Science Park and Life Science REIT’s acquisition of Oxford Technology Park. Across the broader Arc, such as in Potters Bar and Stevenage, investment volumes topped £200m thanks to UBS activity. UBS, in partnership with Reef, acquired 33 acres of land from GlaxoSmithKline, and has funded the Ascend Cell and Gene Therapy GMP facility on the former Cancer Research UK site at Potters Bar. Savills has tracked a number of acquisitions incorporating future development exposure amid the undersupply of assets within the life science sector. It has predicted that much of this would be built speculatively, which is expected to help the supply-demand imbalance in both Oxford and Cambridge. Savills noted that 2023 has already got off to an encouraging start, with £220m of assets already under offer in Oxford and Cambridge. Tom Mellows, head of UK science at Savills, said: “The severe supply shortage is being addressed by significant investment into future development sites, and we expect to see a number of our clients speculatively develop high quality laboratory schemes within the next 12-24 months.” James Emans, director in the investment team at Savills, said: “Of the stock that was traded last year, there were more than 20 different purchasers, and we would anticipate there to be nearly three times this number who would consider themselves active across the Oxford and Cambridge investment market going into 2023.” To send feedback, e-mail evelina.grecenko@eg.co.uk or tweet @gre_eve Image © Chokniti Khongchum/Pexels