Life sciences giant Kadans eyes Manchester campus
The Dutch firm is in talks with McLaren Property to develop and operate an office and lab complex within the Oxford Road Corridor, according to market sources.
Kadans Science Partner and McLaren are understood to be working with architect Sheppard Robson on proposals for a 230,000 sq ft campus on Upper Brook Street.
The company operates more than 40 buildings across 25 campuses in the Netherlands and the UK, offering life sciences and technical laboratory accommodation for a variety of occupiers.
In London, Kadans and Canary Wharf Group recently lodged plans for 823,000 sq ft of life sciences accommodation within a 23-storey tower.
Kadans’ Manchester plans would mark the company’s first foray into the North. So far, the firm’s UK sites are limited to the capital and Cambridge.
In Manchester, Kadans’ Upper Brook Street campus development forms part of a £200m masterplan being led by McLaren that also features plans for around 600 student bedrooms, to be managed by Student Roost.
Site assembly for the masterplan began several years ago when Logik Developments, working in partnership with McLaren, acquired the former Citroen dealership.
The site is located close to the University of Manchester and Bruntwood’s Manchester Science Park, another life sciences hub.
The area is subject to an existing Manchester City Council regeneration framework comprising land around Upper Brook Street, the former Elizabeth Gaskell Campus, Willmott Street, and Birchall Way.
The framework establishes a vision to bring forward the 11-acre Upper Brook Street zone as an “employment-led destination” over the next 10 to 15 years.
McLaren and Kadans were contacted for comment.
That’s good
By Dan
The U.K. is an attractive destination for investment- despite what the current chancellor is doing – we need the Truss growth plan more than ever
By Stuart wood
Wow, people forget quick. The Truss growth plan almost sunk the economy @stuartwood
By ray von
@Stuart Wood. It was Liz Truss who originally apportioned our current chancellor.
By SW
The Truss growth plan? Haha I assume you are being ironic?!
By Pork Markets
The government really needs to offer incentives for Life science firms to set up large campuses outside of London and the golden triangle.
By Anonymous
It growth , and it’s a plan so that’s good. More Life sciences please even though I’m not sure what they are.
By Zach
The government needs to stop offering massive incentives to force life sciences into inappropriate areas like Cambridge and start allowing a level playing field for the private sector to locate in areas like Manchester where they’d rather be. Government has consistently sent more research funding to the South East forcing the private sector to follow into areas where there aren’t enough employees/labs and out of established well resourced areas, which have been proven to work well like Alderley Edge/Daresbury. Ironically the AZ move into Cambridge:- where there aren’t enough staff/facilities/labs, was sited as the reason for the delay to the AZ vaccine roll out and in turn the misguided extended UK lockdown. So God knows just how many hundreds of billions were wasted due to just that one idiotic decision by AZ and David Willets.
By Dr B
The people dismissing the Truss growth plan forget that it included investment zones, reduction in capital gains, continued support for small businesses and holding down corporate taxes- all that the thing that would be now boosting the economy
By Stuart wood
@Stuart there is no evidence any of it would have boosted growth, it was a completely ideologically driven agenda. We have de-regulated investment zones already at Manchester Airport and Liverpool Waters amongst others. They don’t work (in and of their own right). Corporation tax has fluctuated over the course of the last 20 years without appreciable impact because what business values is stability and long term strategic policy allied to public investment which helps de-risk private investment.
The one good thing Truss did achieve is to put all those shadowy Tufton Street-based extremist libertarian free market think tanks who were driving her agenda back in their box. And hopefully for good.
By Pork Markets
Hey folks, as much as I enjoy a political discussion, this one is now decidedly off topic. We will be monitoring the discussion more closely going forward to keep comments focused on the story, which is about Kadans coming to Manchester. – J
By Julia Hatmaker