Rental growth for laboratory space in Cambridgeshire has continued to surge over the past three months, the most recent figures from DTRE have showed.
Prices for fitted lab space hit £71 per sq ft in the second quarter of this year, up by 34% compared with the first quarter, and an increase of more than 40% on the top laboratory rent achieved in 2022.
A new prime rent for the region was set by Charm Therapeutics, which leased 13,570 sq ft of fitted lab space at B900, located on Babraham Research Campus and owned by Kadans Science Partner.
In the three months to 30 June, laboratory take-up in Cambridgeshire totalled 62,350 sq ft across six deals, an increase of 50,000 sq ft on the previous quarter.
The largest lab letting during the second quarter saw Howard Group lease the entirety of building A2 at Unity Campus to Domainex. The company has agreed a lease on 24,036 sq ft of fitted lab space due for completion in December this year.
DTRE, which tracks 930,000 sq ft of active laboratory demand on the market in the region, also reported the completion of more than £111.4m in acquisition deals in Q2, including purchases of land to be developed for life sciences use.
Florence Weston, research analyst at DTRE, said: “Lack of available lab space is a continuing theme for the Cambridge market, with occupiers having to resort to repurposing grade-B offices and converting warehouse space to labs in order to meet immediate needs.”
Meanwhile, data source Beauhurst found that life sciences companies raised more than £1.24bn across the UK in H1, with Cambridge accounting for more than £162m.
Weston added: “With a significant pipeline of stock earmarked to come to market in the latter half of 2023, combined with important venture capital raised by life sciences and biotech companies and a favourable occupational demand and supply dynamic, there remains a significant weight of capital still looking to deploy into Cambridge’s life science market.”
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