Cambridge has the most commercial property transactions within the ‘Golden Triangle’ – the UK’s innovation cluster comprising London, Oxford and Cambridge – seeing a 108% increase in five years.
While commercial transaction volumes are down -20% across the UK over the same period, in Cambridge they’ve risen by 44%, research from Search Acumen has found.
Major investment deals like the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and Westbrook Centre, have fuelled Cambridge’s rise as the UK’s preeminent life sciences hub.
Andrew Lloyd, managing director of Search Acumen, said: “Cambridge reigns as King of Commercial, propelled by a melting pot of innovation, research, and technology hubs, with new investors all seeking a slice of the action.
“A number of key lease agreements for large spaces in the city have contributed to a staggering near 50% growth in values over the last five years, outpacing Oxford, London and the rest of the UK This remarkable upswing underscores the severe supply constraints and skyrocketing demand.”
Oxford, Cambridge and London are commonly seen as the key to propelling the UK’s economic super-power thanks to their globally leading work in biosciences and research.
Oxford also saw robust growth, with an 84% surge in new life sciences company formations in 2020 amid the pandemic. Whilst not as high as Cambridge and experiencing some inevitable cooling in 2021, Oxford rebounded with a 22% increase in 2022.
London has witnessed a more volatile pattern, with fluctuations in company formations and commercial property activity aligning with pandemic impacts. Whilst the five-year growth in Life Science companies in London sits at 96%, the total number of liquidations and strike-offs peaked in 2022 and was the highest of the three cities.
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