Oxford Properties Group, a real estate investor, asset manager and developer, and Pioneer Group, a company combining laboratory development and operation with venture building, have launched plans to convert Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square, central London, into a sciences hub.
The project has secured full planning approval and Oxford and Pioneer Group have also announced that Victoria House will be the new home of the BioIndustry Association (“BIA”), the trade association for UK life sciences.
The project will deliver new supply of lab space to the London market amid a critical shortage of commercially available lab space in the city, which, according to the latest research from Savills, has reached functional full occupancy with a sub 1% vacancy rate as of Q1 2023.
Victoria House is a Grade-II listed building, which has a neo-classical façade with internal Art Deco features. It was designed and constructed in the 1920s for its former owner-occupier the Liverpool Victoria building society and served as its as head office until 1996. Oxford and Pioneer Group plan to convert 220,000 sq ft of the building’s 300,000 sq ft internal area into Grade A state-of-the-art wet lab-enabled life sciences space. The cutting-edge development will have customer wellbeing and sustainability at its core, with the project on track to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification and targeting EPC A energy rating.
Victoria House is located within London’s Knowledge Quarter in the immediate vicinity of the King’s Cross life sciences hub. It is close to several world-renowned universities, hospitals and medical research centres including University College London, GSK and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
With conversion work underway, the first phase is due to complete in Autumn 2024.
Richard O’Boyle, CEO of Pioneer Group, added: “This announcement is an important milestone for our plans with Oxford Properties at Victoria House. London is a renowned global life sciences hub and together we look forward to joining and supporting the local community by not only meeting growing demand from life sciences organisations that seek the ideal combination of amenities and location to attract talent and drive the future of scientific discovery, but also by creating strong, long-term relationships with local organisations working to maintain London’s unique identity as a major player on the international stage. Victoria House will be a premium offering which help further our goal of helping homegrown and international businesses solve the greatest unmet medical and healthcare needs of our time.”
