Voreda and Imperial College London have awarded Laing O'Rourke a £100 million construction contract.

Voreda is partnering with Imperial College London to deliver the major research and translation centre .

The Research and Translation Hub project, valued at a total of £200 million, will form the centrepiece of the new Imperial West innovation district in White City, West London. The 48,000 sq m Hub will deliver world-class education, research and translation activities, and foster partnerships with global stakeholders from business, industry, higher education and the NHS.

Voreda has secured a £73 million development and investment facility from Santander Corporate Banking for the 23,000 sq m translation centre. Imperial College London was awarded £35 million by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) towards the development of the adjacent 25,000 sqm research centre in November 2012.

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Starting in September 2014, Laing O'Rourke and its specialist Group businesses Crown House Technologies, Explore Manufacturing, Expanded, Select Plant and Laing O’Rourke Facades will deliver the two buildings, which form the Research and Translation Hub. It will be completed in summer 2016.

Incorporating 50 new scalable units for university and industry spinouts and new ventures, the translation centre will serve the needs of London's growing enterprise community. It will be run by Imperial College ThinkSpace. The Hub will have an emphasis on linking research and commerce to benefit society and the global economy. Businesses and other world-class universities will have the opportunity to drive innovation through co-location and collaboration. The Hub will also provide high specification, multidisciplinary research space for 1,000 next generation scientists and engineers.

(CD/MH)