Oxford and Cambridge will need around 40 football pitches worth of new lab space to accommodate the next five years of growth, a leading property consultancy has predicted.
A new report by Bidwells, a leading advisor for the science and technology (S&T) sector, says that in spite of Brexit S&T companies are looking to attract 20,000 new R&D workers by 2023.
Analysis based on Bidwells’ market data and interviews with 50 leading S&T companies estimates growth in demand for lab and research space of around 2.5m sq ft over the next five years – the equivalent of 60 new labs or 40 football fields* – as investment across the knowledge industries continues to soar.
Employment would need to grow by a fifth - 22 percent - to support growth.
This could add £2.8bn to the UK economy by 2023, boosting an S&T sector that employs more than 90,000 people in the two cities and is worth an estimated £9.8bn.
Bidwells is currently advising on over 10m sq ft of science related real estate for clients such as Trinity College (owners of Cambridge Science Park), Cambridge Biomedical Campus (UK home of AstraZeneca), the UK’s space industry epicentre at Harwell, Oxford, and Imperial College London.
Patrick McMahon, Senior Partner at Bidwells, said: “Oxbridge’s soaring S&T sectors are a huge UK success story but we must do everything to ensure the area can maintain its place as a global leader post-Brexit. That means infrastructure, dozens of new labs, a million new homes and certainty over employment.
“Businesses that cannot get the space or people they need will take their investment elsewhere and the time is now to launch clear proactive policy and a single joined up growth plan for the area to ensure its future world leading status.”
Bidwells estimates around 6m sq ft of commercial space across the two cities is currently used for R&D.
Bidwells research includes insight from 50 of the leading global S&T companies represented in the UK. Over half said they plan to increase global spending on R&D over the coming five years.
The research said recruitment depends on strong connectivity through quality infrastructure and companies also prioritised the need to have space to grow. Close proximity to academic and research institutions is a key driver of decision making – which is why Oxford and Cambridge are so popular with global companies.
Brexit was not noted as a major challenge per se but the impact on recruitment of high skilled international talent is a real concern.
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