The Crown Estate has set aside £1.5bn for investment into the life sciences sector as it seeks to deliver on its strategic focus to invest where it believes it can have the most valuable impact.
The estate, which published its results for the 2024 financial year this morning, has seen revenue more than double to £1.1bn – boosted by a short-term uplift from offshore wind leasing.
Chief executive Dan Labbad said the Crown, which in May committed £125m to help Oxford Science Enterprises and Pioneer Group turn a former Debenhams in the heart of Oxford into a life sciences scheme, saw potential to invest as much as £1.5bn in the sector over the next 15 years, starting with multi-stakeholder projects around Oxford and Cambridge.
“We want to play a role in supporting growth of the sector,” said Labbad.
“Our focus on growth sectors such as life sciences and clean tech will bring opportunities to link regional innovation centres and institutional capital. Wherever possible we will bring public and private sectors together, and help to catalyse investment in innovation.”
The Crown added: “Our regional strategy focuses on places where we can support urban regeneration, housing and the innovation economy. These plans include high-quality, mixed-use developments in Cambridge and Oxford that are being designed to provide much-needed space for life sciences and innovation as well as housing; meeting urgent demand in these areas and helping to support the UK on the global tech start-up stage.
“The projects are a good example of our ambition to move the needle for local communities and economies, and how we are working with expert partners to cultivate impactful outcomes.”
Despite the strong performance from the Crown’s offshore wind holdings, property remains the bulk of the value of its £15.5bn portfolio. Overall, the property portfolio is valued at £14.1bn – down from £15.8bn last year. The pure real estate portfolio – its London and regional holdings – is valued at £8.4bn, down 5% on last year.
Revenue from the estate’s London business increased marginally from £222.6m to £229.7m, with 90 new office deals signed at an average of 7% above ERV and 60 new retail leases signed at an average 4% above ERV.
Revenue across its regional business dipped slightly from £105.5m to £104.8m, with retail parks performing strongly for the estate.
“As we diversify into new locations and sectors in the coming years, developing opportunities in strategically important growth areas such as science, innovation and mixed-use regeneration, we expect to see this performance strengthen,” said the Crown.
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