Subdued Q1 tale-up tempered by 1.090m sq ft of active science requirements
According to Savills, take-up of science related space across the Golden Triangle totalled 321,222 sq ft in Q1 2025, a decline of 26% on the first quarter of last year. This can be attributed to a more challenging occupational market and restricted global venture capital (VC) flows. However, the firm is starting to see more positive momentum as larger occupiers resume making real estate decisions with active demand totalling circa 1.1 million sq ft.
Savills has looked at the core markets of Oxford, Cambridge and London recording take-up for science related real estate including offices, laboratories and office space set to be converted into labs.
In London, for instance, Savills notes there is circa 140,000 sq ft of lab space currently under offer and expected to transact this year, including 70,000 sq ft to LifeArc and 35,000 sq ft to Eli Lily. Looking ahead, there are a number of key active requirements with demand of up to 330,000 sq ft.
To date in 2025, the capital has seen 48,317 sq ft of take-up, a 15% increase on 2024’s figure. What’s more, 45% of transactions were for lab accommodation, with key deals seeing Epoch BioDesign taking 1,914 sq ft at MAYDE, Brandon Road and CFDX occupying 5,060 sq ft at Rolling Stock Yard, both in King’s Cross. Whilst MINA Therapeutics took 7,200 sq ft at Imperial College’s I-HUB in White City. All three deals were for fully fitted lab space. Consequently, prime rents reached £120 per sq ft in Q1, however labs being delivered in 2025 will be quoting upwards of £160 per sq ft in the Knowledge Quarter.
In Cambridge, Q1 take-up hit 204,166 sq ft, surpassing Q1 2024 as the second highest total recorded in the past five years. This, again, can be attributed to larger deal sizes, demonstrating the maturity of science occupiers in the city. An example of this saw ARM take more than 95,000 sq ft at Peterhouse Technology Park.
There also remains significant demand in the Cambridge market, with more than 400,000 sq ft of active requirements. Take-up in the city should continue to improve this year, with 1.2 million sq ft of space either being refurbished or under construction.
Oxford had a more muted start to Q1, with take-up totalling 68,739 sq ft, 62% of which was for lab or mid-tech space. The key deal for the city saw the Ellison Institute take 28,967 sq ft at the Iversen Building at Oxford Science Park.
Despite being considerably down on the first quarter of 2024, there is currently 85,000 sq ft under offer at both Quad 3 at Harwell and Inventa on the Botley Road. This, coupled with a number of key requirements, including Vertex searching for 120,000 sq ft should see an uptick in activity throughout 2025. This will be supported by 1.2 million sq ft of pipeline due to be delivered over the next two years.
Tom Mellows, head of UK science at Savills, comments: “As we know, VC funding challenges have made some companies more cautious over the last 12 to18 months and although it is too early to predict the impact of the recent US tariff policy, this could well disrupt global supply chains for more mature companies unless resolved quickly. However, we are seeing more VC-backed businesses able to access new investment and re-activate space requirements. While the first quarter of 2025 was subdued, there are clear signs of recovery and we anticipate growing momentum throughout the rest of 2025.”