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Structural shifts in who is investing in the life sciences sector — and how much they’re planning to pay — suggest a growing critical mass of backers is preparing to invest after seeing improvement in the larger U.S. financial picture. It offers a sign of confidence in the long-term success of biotech and lab real estate, even as the larger life sciences leasing picture remains challenging.  

Institutional actors and public investors are expanding their investments, and new entrants are increasingly using joint ventures as they get into the sector, according to a new CBRE report covering life sciences investment trends.

Over the last decade, investment by institutional players in the so-called alternative assets sector has grown from 1% to 6%, now totaling $56.8B, with the largest single share of roughly 33% going to life sciences. Investment volume in research and development properties was 68% higher between 2020 and 2023 than it was between 2016 and 2019. Even with venture capital drying up, outside investments have maintained a steady flow. 

“In primary markets, we believe that the life sciences niche is increasingly being viewed as a normalized asset class and, in some states, an important driver of their local and regional economy,” BGO Vice President of Life Science Development Nick Cassaro said in an email. “We expect that there will…

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Over much of the past two decades, when London real estate prices have dropped and competition reduced, Asian-based investors have stepped in to take advantage of opportunities in the UK capital. But with values falling sharply in 2023 and 2024, they are notable in their absence.

Asian-headquartered investment in London built steadily after the Global Financial Crisis, reaching nearly £8B in 2013, and peaked again in a wider post-Brexit mini slump to hit just shy of £8.3B in 2017, or 29% of all London deals, according to figures provided to Bisnow by MSCI.

But in 2023, as rates rose and investment volumes collapsed, the total was just £2.6B, or 18%. And in 2024, the figure stands at less than £135M to date — less than 2% of the £6.4B total deal volume.

So with repricing of assets across many sectors bringing more value reality to London’s real estate market, plus ongoing political upheaval and signs of interest rates cooling, why has London failed to attract Asia’s big hitters this time around?

The answer lies in macroeconomics, problems at home, challenges common to Europe as a whole and some specific to the UK market, and uncertainty in the sector Asian investors have typically focused on in the UK — offices. “There are multiple factors. Firstly, we’re still waiting for interest rates to come down, while…

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