Pioneer Group, one of the UK’s largest developers and operators of lab space, has secured planning permission to deliver 54,500 ft2 (5,062 m2) of purpose-built lab space at the company’s Cardiff Edge Science Park development.
The space is being delivered as part of a new two-storey building that has been flexibly designed for a single or multiple tenants. The new state-of-the-art facility will be able to cater for companies across the life sciences spectrum – from start-ups and scale-ups to multinational blue chips.
Plans to deliver 10,000 ft2 of amenity space have also been approved by Cardiff City Council, which will provide occupiers with access to facilities such as a restaurant, café and flexible meeting and work spaces.
Simon Hoad, director at Pioneer Group, said: 'Our expansion plans at Cardiff Edge will ensure crucial capacity for the growth and development of various exciting fields of healthcare – such as genomics, diagnostics and other sub sectors.
'State-of-the-art designs will introduce flexible layouts that will harness the power of collaboration to drive first-rate research and knowledge outcomes.'
Cardiff Edge Science Park was acquired by Pioneer Group in April 2021 in what was one of the largest deals made in Wales that year. The site comprises 180,000 ft2 of high-quality life sciences, R&D and office space across seven buildings.
Occupiers based at the campus include Cytiva, Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board and DEFRA – which has the potential to deliver a further 300,000 ft2 of new lab, office, incubator and GMP space.
Situated just five miles north of Cardiff City Centre, the schemes sits within the fast-growing South Wales Life Sciences cluster. Locally there are three universities and two major hospitals plus the new Velindre Cancer Care Centre which is being developed.
Pioneer Group’s operating asset base consists of more than four million square feet of highly leased office/laboratory and manufacturing space in key locations in the UK and Ireland, including London, Cambridge, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.
