REG - Life Science REIT - New Agreement for Lease at Oxford Technology Park

Life Science ReitAnnouncement

14/04/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 8622E  Life Science REIT PLC  14 April 2025

14 April 2025

LEI: 213800RG7JNX7K8F7525

Life Science REIT plc

("Life Science REIT" or the "Company")

New Agreement for Lease at Oxford Technology Park, setting a new rental high
for the park

Life Science REIT (LSE: LABS), the real estate investment trust focused on UK
life sciences properties, announces that is has signed an Agreement for Lease
of 5,600 sq. ft. at the Innovation Quarter ("IQ") at Oxford Technology Park
("OTP") with Oxford Expression Technologies Limited ("OET"), a biotech company
specialising in protein production for vaccine development, disease research,
and drug testing.

Life Science REIT, through its Investment Adviser Ironstone Asset Management,
will now fit out the ground floor shell of the premises to CL2 laboratory
specification and the first floor as fitted offices. The lease will be granted
on completion of the works in Q2 this year.

OET will pay an annual rent of £258,200 (£46.50 per sq. ft.) on a ten-year
lease, which sets a new rental record for the park. The lease includes a rent
review at the end of the fifth year.

The IQ is a differentiated offering within the wider OTP campus. It targets
emerging life science businesses seeking smaller, more flexible space which
can accommodate both wet and dry labs, offices and light production. Covering
69,700 sq. ft., the IQ is home to innovative businesses such as ColdQuanta
(Infleqtion), Oxford Gene Technology and Quantum Advanced Solutions.

On completion, this lease will bring total ERV captured since the Company's
HY24 results announcement in September 2024 to £1.5 million.

Ian Harris, Director of Asset Management at Ironstone Asset Management, the
Company's Investment Adviser, said: "OET is exactly the sort of growing,
entrepreneurial business that we had in mind when the IQ was established. With
a range of formats and sizes, OTP can cater to the demands of new businesses
throughout their life cycle, so we look forward to working with OET as their
business develops."

Linda King, Founder, OET said: " After a number of years based in Oxford
Brookes' Bioinnovation Hub, everyone at OET is delighted to be relocating to
OTP in summer 2025.  We will be moving into a fantastic facility expertly
designed for our bespoke needs, which will benefit our staff, our customers
and collaborators.  The OTP site provides everything we need to support the
continued growth and success of OET."

Spun out of Oxford Brookes University and the Natural Environment Research
Council (NERC) in 2006, OET has commercialised products such as flashBAC™,
which plays a vital role in the pharmaceutical and academic sectors by
enabling high-quality protein production.

OTP was acquired by Life Science REIT in May 2022. It now comprises six
completed buildings totalling 237,900 sq. ft. and 270,500 sq. ft. of
development space. Existing occupiers at the park include The Native Antigen
Company, a developer and manufacturer of antigens and antibodies, Oxford Gene
Technology, a provider of clinical research and diagnostic solutions, and
Oxford Ionics, a leading quantum computing business.

END

 

Enquiries:

 Ironstone Asset Management - Investment Adviser                        +44 20 3011 2160
 Simon Farnsworth, Managing Director

 Simon.farnsworth@ironstoneam.com
 Joanna Waddingham, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs
 Joanna.Waddingham@ironstoneam.com

 MUFG Corporate Governance Limited - Company Secretary
 labs_cosec@cm.mpms.mufg.com

 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited - Corporate Broker and Financial Adviser  +44 20 7886 2500
 Alex Collins / Tom Scrivens

 G10 Capital Limited - AIFM                                            +44 20 7397 5450
 Maria Baldwin

 FTI Consulting - Financial PR                                         +44 20 3727 1000
 Dido Laurimore / Richard Gotla / Oliver Parsons
 LifeScienceReit@fticonsulting.com

 

Notes to editors

Life Science REIT plc is a specialist property business focused on the UK's
growing life science sector. The Company's portfolio of assets is located
across the "Golden Triangle" of research and development hubs in Oxford,
Cambridge and London's Knowledge Quarter and its strategic vision is to become
the property provider of choice for life science companies in the UK.

Life Science REIT is addressing the acute demand-supply imbalance for
laboratory space in the "Golden Triangle", which is characterised by low
vacancy rates and prime rental increases. The UK life science sector itself is
underpinned by strong structural drivers, including an ageing population and a
supportive regulatory environment as well as the growing interdependence with
technology, which is expanding the life science spectrum, driving strong
demand for laboratory space.

The Company's diverse portfolio of assets ranges from a 20-acre science park
currently under development through to fully let buildings, with an important
part of the Company's strategy being the conversion of existing properties to
laboratory space.

The Company's investment policy is focused on capital growth whilst also
providing a growing level of income.

Life Science REIT trades on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under
the ticker LABS.

Further information is available at https://lifesciencereit.co.uk
(https://lifesciencereit.co.uk) . To sign up for email alerts, please visit
https://lifesciencereit.co.uk/investors/
(https://lifesciencereit.co.uk/investors/) .

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