Brookfield, which acquired Arlington in 2021 and bought into Harwell Campus in 2020, has announced the launch of a new brand designed to drive growth of its science clusters.
The investor has created Advanced Research Clusters (ARC) in which its 1.6 million sq ft of existing assets and five million sq ft of potential development which include Harwell, Oxford Business Park, Uxbridge Business Park and Manbre Wharf at Hammersmith, will be renamed ARC Oxford, ARC Uxbridge, and ARC West London, respectively.
ARC is the result of two years’ work between CoreLife Investors and Brookfield. It is expected to grow throughout the UK and Europe to address soaring demand for lab space.
By the mid-2020s more than 1.5 million sq ft additional space will have been developed at Harwell and 750,000 sq ft will be added at Oxford.
At select sites, starting with ARC West London in July, ‘Motherlabs’ will be introduced, offering flexible accelerator and incubator space to support start-ups and spin-outs from concept to commercialisation.
ARC will offer business mentorship, leadership and community events and new amenities as well as a bursary scheme to encourage more women into science.
Dominic Williamson, senior vice president of Brookfield, said: “With unprecedented levels of private and public capital flowing into the science, technology and innovation sectors, there is a tremendous opportunity to create centres of excellence that foster and accelerate growth in these dynamic industries.
“We are excited to launch ARC, and support the team as they expand the platform, leveraging Brookfield’s global expertise of delivering high-quality experiences for our tenants and partners.”
Stuart Grant, chief executive of ARC and co-founder of CoreLife Investors, said: “With demand for science lab space outstripping supply it’s easy for real estate organisations to become complacent. We’ve listened to our members and have responded to their needs, creating a platform that is an authentic partner to science and innovation.
“We’re investing in 21st Century science and innovation communities, creating connected clusters where innovation thrives, and organisations can scale quickly and effectively through the membership package, mentorship and support on offer.”
Current members of the ARC portfolio include Oxford Biomedica, which was behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, Perspectum, which uses digital technology to support people with liver disease and DNA sequencing provider Oxford Nanopore.
Image shows the Harwell Campus.
© Thames Tap (powered by ukpropertyforums.com).
Sign up to receive your free weekly Thames Tap journal here.
