MORNING NEWS: Why London could soon be oversupplied with labs

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of real estate-relevant headlines from the national papers. A boom in the building of labs and life sciences-related real estate in London could leave the market oversupplied within a decade. Just half of the demand for lab space in London was being met by the mid-point of this year. But by as soon as 2026, lab space constructed in the capital will have nearly doubled to 2m sq ft. And if all of the planned space is delivered by 2032, London’s lab space could supply the entire Golden Triangle demand, forecast at 1m sq ft per year by 2029. Angela Kukula, director of life sciences at London & Partners and chief executive at MedCity, which carried out the research, says: “I am delighted at the way the real estate community has responded to our earlier demand reports, bringing forward life sciences workspaces in prime locations close to our universities and research hospitals. “These new developments will underpin London’s growth, ensuring that the capital really becomes the global destination of choice for life sciences.” AXA Investment Managers Alts has set plans in motion for a 46-storey office tower on St Mary Axe in the City of London. The investment manager had already launched a virtual consultation over the future of Camomile Court and 63 St Mary Axe, EC3, a pair of 1980s office buildings close to Liverpool Street station. Now, an environmental impact assessment report lodged with the City of London Corporation has revealed fresh details of what the likely new scheme will be: a 46-storey mixed-use tower with close to 100,000 sq ft of office space. This week’s big interview is with Fusion Group, where the top team is studying hard as the company works on a growing portfolio of student accommodation sites. Since its launch 10 years ago, Fusion has delivered just over 5,000 beds across 10 university cities. But its directors say this is just the beginning – Fusion has filled a pipeline with 9,000 beds either in construction and planning or contracted, with a further 1,500 going through the legal process. “We are the largest privately owned student accommodation developer [in the UK], and we’re also quite a small and agile team,” says commercial director Laura Kurt. “It has allowed us to make innovative and nimble decisions. Our ethos is all around wellbeing and creating experiences that enhance the lives of students whilst they’re living with us. It’s about the kind of environment that they’re in.” The Quintain-owned London Designer Outlet shopping centre in Wembley has struck several new deals and renewals with existing tenants. Lids, a sportswear retailer, has opened a new 702 sq ft store at the LDO, while menswear brand Ben Sherman will take up 1,339 sq ft. Long-standing brands at the centre such as Sunglass Hut and Sony have relocated to larger units, expanding by about 20% and 50% respectively. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:London risks oversupply of costly lab spaceFusion’s curriculum for rethinking student digsQuintain’s London Designer Outlet signs new brandsSEGRO sells Italian logistics portfolioWhy SMEs’ sustainability demands are an opportunity for London landlordsRegional REIT completes £110.5m equity raiseMilton Keynes’ 355-home BTR scheme gets go-aheadSalford’s Crescent Innovation given green lightDevelopers picked for 3,000-home scheme near CambridgeStandard Chartered London HQ refurb gets go-aheadNew vision unveiled for Canary Wharf’s HSBC towerDeka set to revamp Bank junction office blockActivewear retailer beefs up presence at Manchester’s NOMAFlex office demand more than triples since pandemicOffice attendance rises at Europe’s largest companiesAXA IM plans 46-storey City of London towerOctopus raises £150m for affordable housing fundHousebuilder gets £125m backing from HSBC and Homes EnglandLondon hospital-to-homes transformation given the nodMore than half of white-collar workers work mainly from home (£)Private equity groups battle it out for $15bn schools group (£)Carpetright competitor close to deal for troubled retailer (£)The zombie mall king doesn’t want to be a bottom-feeder forever (£)