US pharma giant Eli Lilly has gone under offer for more than 30,000 sq ft of workspace across the top floors of Reef Group and BlackRock’s Apex building in the heart of King’s Cross, N1.
The 112,341 sq ft block forms a part of the wider 600,000 sq ft Knowledge Quarter scheme, known as Tribeca, which is being delivered by Reef in partnership with BlackRock Alternatives.
Discussions with Eli Lilly have advanced more than two years after the US company first mooted its intention to return to London. At the time, Eli Lilly had appointed CBRE to find a base of around 65,000 sq ft, but the plans were shelved in 2023 and sights turned to Europe amid pricing and regulatory pressures in the UK capital.
Last year, the company revived its London requirement, although at the half of the initial size, having held positive talks with the new UK government around the terms of recovering costs of research and development.
CBRE was retained to lead the search and tasked to look for a facility where Eli Lilly could create accelerator space for early stage companies with an aim to grow their businesses and take products to market.
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly told Estates Gazette: “We are currently evaluating sites and opportunities. We cannot comment on specifics at this time.”
Reef declined to comment.
Other tenants at Tribeca include the London BioScience Innovation Centre, which opened a 37,127 sq ft innovation centre at Apex earlier this year.
The Francis Crick Institute will operate 52,000 sq ft of fitted lab and write-up space at Tribeca, providing access to the institute’s scientific expertise.
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