London emerges as Europe’s most active lab construction market

London has become Europe’s most active laboratory construction market, according to new research from CBRE. The most recent data from the consultancy tracked 2.7m sq ft under construction in the UK capital. When fully completed, the number of labs in London will triple. The city’s existing lab space, totalling 932,586 sq ft, sits across multiple micro clusters, with the King’s Cross Knowledge Quarter being the most recognised and mature. Spanning across 310,536 sq ft, the area is known for its blend of science and technology capabilities, providing a rich talent pool that many occupiers in the sector are keen to access. Other clusters across the UK capital include White City, Canary Wharf, Whitechapel South Bank and Sutton. Together, they create a life sciences ecosystem with three of the world’s leading universities for biomedical sciences — University College London, King’s College and Imperial College — complemented by top research institutions including the Francis Crick Institute, the Wellcome Trust, the Institute of Cancer Research, and world-renowned hospitals, such as Guy’s and St Thomas’ and The Royal Marsden. Globally, London ranks as the fourth-most active space for lab construction, in a tie with San Francisco. Barcelona, Oxford and Cambridge complete the European top four, with life sciences development pipeline under construction at 1.2m sq ft, 1.1m sq ft and 1.0m sq ft, respectively. Accelerated lab construction activity in London comes amid several years of robust venture capital funding, which has helped to fuel London’s building activity. The city has historically dominated venture capital funding across Europe, but in 2024 was surpassed by a surge in funding in Cambridge, which totalled $865m (£650m) versus $575.5m (£432.5) in London. Major occupiers that have a presence in Cambridge include Abcam, Altos Labs, Amgen, Astex, AstraZeneca, Bicycle Therapeutics, BioNTech, Charles River Lab, Dr Reddys, Illumina, Mission Therapeutics, MundiPharma, Nuclera, Takeda and Thermo Fisher. Other notable European destinations for life sciences venture capital include Oxford and Paris, raising $478.7m (£359.7m) and $156.8m (£117.8m) respectively last year. When it comes to the existing lab and research and development space in Europe, Cambridge scores as the largest market by square footage, with 4.2m sq ft. Life sciences activity in the region is mainly centred around the larger science parks located in the Southern cluster, whereas tech is more prevalent in the North and City Centre. Over the recent years, further micro clusters have been developed across the city, offering the full spectrum of capabilities needed to generate, attract and retain companies at different stages. In addition, CBRE expects the development pipeline to pick up on the trend towards the urbanisation of innovation, with the fringe City Centre sites shaping the future of the Cambridge cluster. Joanne Henderson, head of life sciences for Europe at CBRE, said: “Europe is witnessing a strengthening of established hubs, like Cambridge in the UK, as well as cities evolving their capabilities including Paris, London and Barcelona. “Historically, a lack of lab space has prevented companies from locating their research and development operations in London so a healthy pipeline of stock will support those with ambitious growth plans. The real estate landscape will become much more competitive as new lab space starts to become available and by default, more choice. As with office space, quality and location will prevail.”