The jolt delivered to the life sciences property sector by the Covid pandemic may soon seem like a mere bump as the industry braces for the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

Cell blocks: Reef + Partners’ 1m sq ft Tribeca campus in King’s Cross has evolved into a bioscience scheme

Developers are rapidly repositioning schemes to cater for a much broader range of occupants than looked likely when the pandemic was focusing attention on high-spec laboratories.

“The AI impact is significant, it’s exciting and it’s testing our base build quite quickly,” says Peter Langly-Smith, managing director of Reef + Partners, the firm behind the 1m sq ft Tribeca campus in central London.

Originally set to be an office development, the Tribeca project along the Regent’s Canal in King’s Cross neatly illustrates the life sciences journey over recent years. It evolved into a bioscience scheme after flagship research charity the Francis Crick Institute (FCI) opened in the area in 2016 and entered a collaboration with Reef.

By early summer 2021, with England’s final lockdown rules still in place and the vaccine rollout ongoing, construction contracts were awarded on The Apex at Tribeca, a six-storey building designed to house advanced science facilities.

It opened early last year, with the London BioScience Innovation Centre taking 39,000 sq ft to provide scale-up lab facilities, and the rest of the space managed by the FCI.

A second wave of Tribeca, featuring the 200,000 sq ft Reflector building, is due to be completed this summer before the Assembly and Connector buildings are finished next year. Reef is also working up plans for a 600,000 sq ft expansion into neighbouring Royal College Place.

Homes, shops, bars and restaurants are all included in the overall vision, and the type of inhabitant is likely to evolve over the phases of the development.

The AI impact is significant, it’s exciting and it’s testing our base build quite quickly
Peter Langly-Smith, Reef + Partners

“Some of the conversations we’ve got ongoing for phase two are innovation [companies] partnering with science names we all know,” Langly-Smith says. “It is not a pivot, but it is showing that our buildings have to be flexible and adaptable.”

He says the “bones” of the Tribeca buildings create the right conditions for practical scientific experiments, through the design of elements such as floor-to-ceiling heights, riser volume and floor slabs. Occupiers can then decide how to adapt spaces for their uses.

“In every discussion we are in agreed terms with, there is an element of dry or wet lab, a need for bespoke technical space and equipment,” Langly-Smith says. “The space and how it is used will evolve and we’re seeing that happen, but you won’t remove the need
for labs.”

However, David Felman, director and head of occupier advisory at consultancy Newsteer, says development of life sciences space has shifted “well beyond” a pure focus on labs.

“The schemes that perform best now are those planned as flexible, mixed environments that reflect how science and technology businesses actually operate,” he adds.

Felman says that even the most traditional life sciences businesses want a broad mix of space in the current era. “Research sits alongside data, tech, office-based teams and commercial functions,” he explains. “Usability, flexibility and operational certainty matter just as much as headline specification.”

Deciding factors

As the post-Covid boom fades to a low rumble, occupiers are making more selective decisions based on cost, risk and adaptability rather than an urgent desire for expansion, adds Felman.

With operational patterns also changing, and a range of adjacent sectors looking to locate near to science specialists, canny property providers are broadening their sights.

“We are seeing developers target a wider occupier base, including health tech, AI-led research, diagnostics, medtech and specialist professional services,” Felman says. “That broader appeal can add resilience, but only if space is genuinely adaptable and the cost base stacks up.”

Felman also describes a “clear geographic shift” in the sector with regional clusters “gaining momentum” where they can offer “talent, affordability and deliverability”.

Mix and match: flexibility will be built into Mix Manchester to appeal to a range of potential occupiers

Matt Lee, head of science and technology at consultancy Carter Jonas, predicts “continued growth in regional hotspots”. But he believes this will benefit rather than diminish the traditional heartland of the sector. “It will be additive to the national ecosystem, involving companies that are often not looking to take space in Oxford, Cambridge and London,” he says.

Indeed, a report published by Cushman & Wakefield in May shows take-up of life sciences space across the ‘golden triangle’ totalled 242,200 sq ft in the first three months of 2026, representing the second-highest quarterly figure in over two years.

More than 300,000 sq ft was under offer across the London-Oxford-Cambridge arc at the end of March, suggesting further activity growth this year.

Lee points to buildings coming forward in the North West, Teesside and the West Midlands, saying these will boost those regional markets.

He is also seeing the trend towards broader campuses. “There is a real blend of science and technology in take-up and a growing recognition of the potential of a multi-sector approach,” he says.

“There are so many different aspects to science and technology and they have different points when they expand rapidly for different reasons.

“Developers are becoming more conscious of the need to have a resilient portfolio that provides the different types of spaces companies need on a growth cycle.”

Flexible options

One flexible and inclusive science and technology scheme that is coming through outside the golden triangle is Mix Manchester. A hybrid planning application to build the 1.6m sq ft first phase of the campus next to the city’s airport was submitted in April by the public-private consortium behind the ambitious proposals.

Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Manchester Airports Group have teamed up with Beijing Construction Engineering Group to deliver the mixed-use scheme.

“Clustering is something we see as key to the success and growth of Mix Manchester – that flexibility across uses,” says Mix Manchester head of agency and development Helen Ratcliffe.

“We’re in advanced conversations with a lot of clean-tech occupiers and we envisage we will land one of those and then a number will cluster and that will happen across various areas within the science, tech and innovation landscape.”

Appealing to a range of potential users is an important part of the plan.

Schemes that perform best now are those planned as flexible, mixed environments
David Felman, Newsteer

“What we feel is such a benefit of Mix is the flexibility, not just in size of units, which range from 5,000 sq ft to 500,000 sq ft, but in terms of research space, office uses, manufacturing and various types of leases,” Ratcliffe says. “That flexibility means we’ve got a broad target market and we can attract lots of different types of occupiers.”

Emily Fleet, head of delivery for Mix Manchester, adds that potential occupiers have made clear the importance they place on locating near other businesses.

“Community is key,” she says. “They’re coming to Mix to build a community and start to help us build those clusters. Hence the high-quality public realm and all the transport links.”

She adds: “We’ve got different buildings to suit different occupiers.”

Rapidly evolving or not, the life sciences sector is not immune to the macro challenges faced by the wider property sector.

“Build-cost inflation has been a significant issue and the Middle East situation is really hindering that,” Fleet says. “The forecasting that we’re doing is not great and that does very much impact on viability, but we are comfortable this is a deliverable scheme because of the wealth of occupier demand and the speed of delivery.”

Mix’s location may also be an advantage in the current economic climate. “There is more appetite for investment because you are getting more bang for your buck outside the golden triangle,” Ratcliffe explains.

“We are very much seeing interest from those who are already in that location or have discounted it because they don’t feel they’re getting the value.”

Oxford finds solutions in store

Oxford City Council recently approved plans for the transformation of a former Debenhams department store into a dedicated hub for “innovative human and planetary health enterprises”.

The 1-12 Magdalen Street project is a partnership between The Crown Estate, developer Pioneer Group and venture builder Oxford Science Enterprises.

It will see the existing 19th-century structure on the site repurposed, with upper floors becoming a 100,000 sq ft incubator and accelerator space. Alongside a range of labs, plans include workspace, collaboration and social areas as well as dedicated conference and events spaces.

Daniel Parker, science and technology practice leader at project architect Perkins&Will, says the scheme “responds to shifting dynamics in the science and technology market”.

He adds: “The sector has broadened significantly and occupiers’ needs are more diverse and nuanced.

“What is labelled as life sciences now sits within a wider science and technology ecosystem, spanning digital science, advanced technologies, wet labs, incubators and spin-outs. These organisations have varied and evolving requirements, and increasingly seek environments that enable interaction rather than isolation.”