Amazon Property’s £250m fund has made its first life sciences purchase through a joint venture with investment company Lateral, after inking a deal to buy an office-to-lab scheme in Cambridge.
The jv bought Mortlock House, which measures 31,248 sq ft, for £15m from a private overseas investor. The offices, previously occupied by Barclays Wealth and located on a one-acre site opposite Vision Park in Histon, Cambridge, will be redeveloped to provide service-led lab space for occupiers of all sizes.
As the site’s developer and asset manager, Lateral expects to complete the scheme in the first quarter of 2023.
The deal represents the second jv between Lateral and Amazon Capital, having previously teamed up on a value-add managed office space in the South Bank.
Amazon Capital was set up in April to invest in joint ventures in the life sciences, logistics, managed offices, PBSA and retirement sectors.
Rob Beacroft, director at Lateral, said: “Despite the proliferation of the sector generating 1m sq ft of tracked lab demand, Cambridge has little to no fit for purpose lab stock.
“Our technical expertise and comprehensive understanding of market dynamics identified Mortlock House as a prime candidate to deliver ready-to-go lab space.
“For the UK life sciences sector to fulfil its undoubted potential, investors and developers must take the headache of real estate away from the occupier and focus on speed to occupation and a consumer-focused service. That is what we intend to do in Cambridge, Whitechapel and throughout our wider pipeline.”
Chris Lanitis, chief investment officer at Amazon Capital, said: “Life sciences is a sector we believe in with robust fundamentals and we have every faith in Lateral’s sector expertise to mitigate risk and maximise returns.”
JLL advised Lateral, while Chris Freer-Smith acted for the vendor.
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