Kadans expands its presence in the United Kingdom by adding its second research hub in the country to its Pan-European science park portfolio.
Kadans acquired Sycamore House from GSK. It is a 9,640 sqm industrial and warehouse building, located directly adjacent to Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (“SBC”), and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre (“CGTCMC”). Kadans will redevelop and extend Sycamore House into a modern, vibrant, multi-tenanted R&D facility with expected completion mid-2021.
The building will provide grow-on space for overflowing demand from SBC and CGTCMC. Discussions with potential occupiers are now being progressed, in collaboration with SBC, to ensure that the offering is built to suit the needs of the campus community.
Situated in the heart of the Golden Triangle, centrally between Cambridge and London, the cluster benefits from good connectivity with established knowledge centres and a skilled workforce in close proximity. The facility will build on the strengths of the collaborative ecosystem based at Stevenage and support the further growth of the globally significant cell and gene therapy community.
Kadans and SBC will collaborate to develop the campus ecosystem through new initiatives and value-add services. The aim will be to support the cross-campus community both locally as well as internationally, using the networks and reach of both organisations.
“We are delighted with this announcement and to work with Kadans as a long-term investor and developer in research intensive clusters. There is a shared understanding of the support required to help scientific communities to thrive.
The campus is an established ecosystem of companies that have raised almost £1bn of investment. The redevelopment of Sycamore House is an exciting new chapter in the expansion of this cluster in Stevenage.”
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, CEO, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
By adding Sycamore House to the portfolio, Kadans is furthering its aspiration to create one strong knowledge-sharing ecosystem of science parks across Europe. The portfolio now comprises 23 properties and 4 projects under development in the Netherlands, UK and Germany.
Kadans was supported in this transaction by Creative Places specialist R&D real estate consultants. Mills & Reeve acted as legal advisors for Kadans.
Submitted on 12/08/2019
