Life Sciences Update | Summary + photos

Government wants the UK to have the third most important life sciences economy worldwide by 2035. The North is busy doing its part to help achieve that goal by delivering millions of square feet of lab and research and development space, attracting global power players like Convatec, and empowering leading academic research.

Place North’s Life Sciences Update on 13 November provided a snapshot of the state of the market with discussions that delved into how we can supercharge the regional science economy, as well as the opportunities and challenges the sector faces in the North. For the second half of the morning, the event zeroed in on one city region in particular: Greater Manchester.

The event also touched on how designs for laboratories are changing, both due to the market and due to legal changes. An exhibition from SB Labs emphasised the demand for functional and beautiful workspace.

Life Sciences Update was sponsored by BondBryan:Fairhursts, Mills & Reeve, and Morgan Sindall Construction. It was chaired by Place North West editor Julia Hatmaker.

Expert speakers

• Katherine Boylan, deputy managing director for research and innovation at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
• Ben Bridgewater, chief executive of Health Innovation Manchester
• Will Fogden, head of investment and development at Kadans
• James Gibbons, investment manager at Northern Gritstone
• Phil Kelly, partner at Ridge
• Jonny Lowe, head of science and technology in the North at CBRE
• Laura Sherliker, director at BondBryan:Fairhursts
• John Willis, programme lead at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• Andrea Winders, head of inward investment at MIDAS
• Neville Young, director of enterprise and innovation at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber

The first panel of the day featured Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber’s Neville Young, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s John Willis, Northern Gritstone’s James Gibbons, and Bond:Bryan Fairhursts’ Laura Sherliker. Credit: Place North

The strengths and opportunities of the Northern Arc

• The North is strongest when it works together rather than competes. He played up the strength of ageing research in Newcastle, digital health in Leeds, biopharma in Greater Manchester, and vaccines in Liverpool
• More attention should be given to the secondary lab space market and consider ‘research hotels’ to allow for more flexible spaces that encourage collaboration and growth
• The importance of having thriving ecosystems in attracting talent, businesses, and investment cannot be understated, with Northern Gritstone’s Gibbons citing Nexus in Leeds as a prime example
• Devolution has provided opportunities for Northern mayors to champion the region, as well as more control over funding to help encourage the life sciences sector
• Northern universities are doing great work, as are their spin-outs, and we need to shout about it more

Challenges

• There are UK-wide challenges, with the government being criticised by global companies for not being supportive enough of the industry
• It is more expensive to make things in the UK. Since we can’t win on price, the country should focus on quality
• Market reform is needed to help encourage the country’s pharmaceutical industry
• More investment is needed for infrastructure, especially transport and power

‘I think we can get better at telling the story of Northern innovation and all that we have to offer. Our strength lies in the depth of research, the cross collaboration and the connected universities we have. I don’t think we play that message out in the global arena as much as we could.’ Laura Sherliker, BondBryan:Fairhursts

What needs to be done to set the North apart when it comes to life sciences?

From the speakers

• Gibbons and Health Innovation’s Young: The North needs to shout more about our successes and be ambitious.
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Willis: We need to change how we appraise investment. Green Book Reform is a good step forward on this.
• BondBryan:Fairhursts’ Sherliker: There are opportunities if the North leans into secondary space and speculative development

From the audience

• Improve transport, including connectivity to London
• Ensure the people who work in this sector have support with great living conditions and access to nature
• Focus on complementing the Southern provision, as opposed to competing with it.
• Ensure the North is presented to investors as one place
• Promote the “quality of life” and affordability benefits of the North to attract and retain world-class talent from migrating out of the region and towards the Golden Triangle
• Ensure the best universities are fully engaged and putting the necessary resources into commercial partnerships
• Increased investment in our universities and further collaboration between them and the industry
• Access to funding. Developing and building the ecosystems. Area specialisms utilised to full advantage.

Ridge and Partners’ Phil Kelly emphasised that upcoming regulation changes mean sustainability is even more important than before when it comes to labs. Credit: Place North

Legal sustainability changes for labs

• Ridge’s Kelly walked the audience through upcoming changes in regulation
• The Future Building Standard will increase minimum standards for fabric and renewables specification next year
• The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard is due to change in 2028 to require science space to be EPC B or above
• BREEAM Version 7 is active and makes it even harder to achieve a high rating
• The Net Zero Carbon Building Standard will provide a single holistic definition of what it means to be net zero carbon
• The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories has guidance and benchmarking information to assist you in assessing your projects/buildings

The second panel of the day featured Health Innovation Manchester’s Ben Bridgewater, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s Katherine Boylan, CBRE’s Jonny Lowe, MIDAS’s Andrea Winders, and Kadans’ Will Fogden. Credit: Place North

Supercharging Manchester’s life sciences economy

• Greater Manchester is already going great work in this space, but could learn by studying other successful life science ecosystems like Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and Hyderabad in India, according to Health Innovation’s Bridgewater.
• Like the North, GM needs to shout more about what it does well, including its strengths in genomics, diagnostics, and, in the future, nuclear medicine
• More could be done with Mayor Andy Burnham, given his background as a former health secretary
• The NHS’s work with Medtronic is a prime example of how the public sector in GM is working alongside the private to empower patients with technology
• MIDAS’s Winders said she wants to bring a billion pounds’ worth of investment into GM over the next three years – and is well placed to do so

‘I think Manchester is really quite ahead of the game. We’re looking at new markets. We’re looking at bringing new innovations to the UK.’ Andrea Winders, MIDAS

What is the most important factor when it comes to the labs of the future?

From the panel:

• Kadans’ Fogden: Don’t be overly prescriptive about what you’re building. Also invest heavily today in terms of building infrastructure, rather than building cheaper
• Winders: Automation will become king in this sector. Co-location is also incredibly important, with these spaces needing to be built alongside health innovation networks, universities, and hospitals
• CBRE’s Lowe: Chat with occupiers and ensure you understand tenant needs

From the audience

• Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility
• Cluster locations
• Investor confidence in “emerging” geographical markets
• Electricity capacity
• Sustainability
• Capacity to inspire
• Efficient infrastructure
• Projects that tackle inequality, as well as building quality assets

What’s Next?

27 November | NorthFold: Delivering growth across Wigan and Bolton

11 December | North West Christmas Social

29 January 2026 | Lancashire Development Update

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