EXCLUSIVE: Property Chemistry As Bruntwood Ties Up Qiagen For Massive Genomics Campus

Is the Manchester office market on the brink of a genomics revolution?

City council leaders meet in secret session on Wednesday to confirm a funding plan that will unlock a new science campus in the Oxford Road corridor. As usual, Bruntwood is in the thick of the action.

A new genomics campus will be created at Manchester Royal Infirmary following a deal with German specialist Qiagen.

Manchester City Council's Executive will meet in an emergency secret session on July 11 to confirm the plan.

The deal — which unlocks funding for the campus — will put Manchester in the leading position in the U.K. push into the genomics sector.

Bruntwood's CityLab 2, which totals 93K SF, will be the focus of the new campus: Bruntwood told Bisnow in January that a pre-let was imminent. Approached by Bisnow for a comment on the Qiagen letting, a Bruntwood spokesman said it had no statement to make at this time.

When the deal was first revealed in November it was suggested up to 800 jobs would be involved. A funding deal between the NHS, the University of Manchester and the government has now been concluded, which opens the way to the new campus development. Qiagen already employ 250 people in Manchester.

Qiagen, based near Dusselforf, did not respond to Bisnow's request for a comment.

Both the public and private sector are investing heavily in the science of gene sequencing: in 2013 the government set up Genomics England to sequence 100,000 genomes from NHS patients with a rare disease and their families, and patients with cancer. It promised further funding in 2015.

In Manchester's Oxford Road corridor, 1M SF of science floorspace is already developed,with Bruntwood's Manchester Science Parks dominating the market.

The arrival of a significant genomics facility adds another string to Manchester's scientific mix. The city is already host to the 82K SF National Graphene Institute. The five-storey building has been designed using pioneering techniques to incorporate ultra-high-specification facilities throughout to create a world-leading research hub. Like the genomics campus, it too was funded with a £38M contribution from the government.

Also on the way, the new 172K SF Henry Royce Institute for materials science research and innovation will bring together world-leading academics from across the U.K. to work closely with industry to ensure commercialisation of fundamental research.

The Manchester building will enable a wide array of groundbreaking research to be undertaken including investigations into biomedical materials which are at the cutting edge of regenerative medicine and prosthetics; nuclear materials to support the energy sector; materials systems for demanding environments; and 2D materials which, for example, can be used in inks for printable electronics, enhanced composites, in fuel cells and super capacitators which outperform traditional batteries.

Both facilities are associated with the University of Manchester.