Demand for life sciences space in the ‘Golden Triangle’ hit 925,000 sq ft last year – the highest annual volume since 2015, according to new data from Cushman & Wakefield.
Take-up hit 352,000 sq ft in Q4 – more than double take-up activity in Q3 – with the biggest transactions being Williams Advanced Engineering’s 104,000 sq ft owner-occupier purchase at Oxford Airport and BioNTech’s 79,000 sq ft lease of the newly completed 1000 Discovery Drive, Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Cushman & Wakefield said leasing activity was constrained by the shortage of supply in Cambridge.
The development pipeline for life sciences space under construction in the Golden Triangle totals 3.1m sq ft, with 26% of this space pre-let or under offer. There is a further 5.7m sq ft of consented space.
Jamie Renison, head of life sciences agency UK at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “The Golden Triangle has once again shown it represents the most influential areas for life sciences in the UK, with deal activity surging ahead of the previous quarter and representing the highest annual volume since 2015. Despite the impact of higher interest rates, we continue to see robust occupier demand for good quality lab spaces, with a strong pipeline of assets coming to market suggesting an uptick in investment activity is on the cards for 2024.”
Kiran Patel, life sciences research and insight at Cushman & Wakefield, added “An acute shortage of available space has continued to put upward pressure on prime headline quoting lab rents in Cambridge, increasing to £70/sq ft in the final quarter – a new record high. Oxford and London rents remained level at £62.50/sq ft and £130/sq ft respectively in Q4. Competition for tenants will be greater, and despite increased construction costs, we expect to see less rental growth in these two markets over the year ahead.”
