Tishman Speyer jv to launch WeWork-style lab offer in the UK
Breakthrough Properties, a life sciences jv between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, is planning to bring its WeWork-style lab concept to the UK, as it draws up proposals for a new life sciences hub in Oxford.
Thomas Renn, vice president of acquisitions and development for Europe at Breakthrough, told EG that the jv intends to launch its StudioLabs co-working concept at its 1.7-acre Trinity House site (pictured), unless a prospective pharma tenant wants to occupy the entire location.
StudioLabs, which launched in San Diego in March, provides spaces for hot-desking and co-working, as well as private offices and meeting rooms. The offer includes short lease terms, no capital requirements and monthly fixed costs.
Breakthrough Properties, a life sciences jv between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, is planning to bring its WeWork-style lab concept to the UK, as it draws up proposals for a new life sciences hub in Oxford.
Thomas Renn, vice president of acquisitions and development for Europe at Breakthrough, told EG that the jv intends to launch its StudioLabs co-working concept at its 1.7-acre Trinity House site (pictured), unless a prospective pharma tenant wants to occupy the entire location.
StudioLabs, which launched in San Diego in March, provides spaces for hot-desking and co-working, as well as private offices and meeting rooms. The offer includes short lease terms, no capital requirements and monthly fixed costs.
“We’ve taken Tishman Speyer’s global studio products and blended [them] with biotech lab space,” said Renn.
The jv’s plans for Trinity House, which it bought for £50m from Devonshire Commercial Property in February, will involve demolishing the existing 26,000 sq ft offices at the site – which Renn said was “rather small” – and replacing them with a larger building. The new-build will see between 25,000 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft allocated to studio labs and the remainder to more conventional lab spaces.
Proposals are set to be lodged with the council this summer, with a target completion date of 2024.
Renn said: “At the moment our strategy is pretty flexible because we see the demand at both ends of the spectrum. There are some large users in Oxford getting the HQ buildings that they need.
“At the other end of the spectrum, there are some fantastic early-stage companies that also need support. If we can do a hybrid to support both ends of the spectrum, that will be great.”
The jv has recruited Clearbell Capital director Adam Wlodarczyk-Black as its new director for project management for the UK and Europe, as it seeks to ramp up its presence on the continent. Wlodarczyk-Black worked at Clearbell for two years.
Renn said the business expects to make three more UK hires this summer. He added that Breakthrough has quadrupled its number of employees globally over the past year.
“We’re really excited to be building a team here [in the UK] and as we scale up our presence into Europe,” he said.
As expansion accelerates, Breakthrough will seek to establish its HQ in London owing to the capital’s connectivity to both Cambridge and Oxford, as well as the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
“We will go into co-working space initially to keep the cost base low and flexible, and scale over time,” said Renn.
A turn to flex workspace comes as Breakthrough continues to assess how hybrid working fits with the company. It is mooting the possibility of bringing its New York routine to London, where employees will be in the office Tuesday to Thursday and work from home on Monday and Friday.
Breakthrough raised $3bn (£2.4bn) in its latest funding round last month and is looking to allocate around $1bn to investments across UK and European assets.
To send feedback, e-mail evelina.grecenko@eg.co.uk or tweet @Gre_Eve or @EGPropertyNews
Photo © Carter Jonas/VSL & Partners
