GRAHAM has secured a multi-million pound contract for the construction of an Innovation Centre in Reading.

Procter & Gamble awarded the contracted for the design and build of the facility, which will comprise research and development offices and laboratories for its staff.

Tim Brown, Procter & Gamble's Associate Director for R&D said: "We are delighted to be partnering with GRAHAM on our new Health Care Research Centre in Reading. GRAHAM has a strong track record in innovation in design and construction and was the winner of the UK Building Award for Major Contractor in 2017."

The industrial area site was most recently used as a research and development laboratory responsible for the front-end innovation for new Procter & Gamble razor products used across the world.

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Working with The Fairhursts Design Group, GRAHAM will demolish the south-western wing of the existing building to make way for a new two-storey building comprising offices and laboratories. The new and existing buildings will be linked by a glazed atrium.

The facilities will offer flexible, efficient and sustainable work accommodation, while acknowledging the site's industrial history through a sympathetic design to complement the existing Gillette manufacturing building facing Basingstoke Road.

Once complete, the building will provide high-quality research facilities that support the needs and talents of the scientists who work there, enabling them to thrive in a modern work environment.

Rob Joyce, GRAHAM's London office Director, said: "This new development will provide state-of-the- art laboratories and research facilities to support the needs of Procter & Gamble's workforce. Our aim is to create a modern, fit for purpose facility that is sympathetic to the site's history while encouraging innovation."

Richard Sagar, Managing Director of The Fairhursts Design Group, lead added: "We are proud to be involved in such a significant project alongside GRAHAM. The project teams' collaborative approach will see the vision for the Innovation Centre in Reading come to life and provide enhanced research and development facilities that are modern and adaptable."

The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2019.

(CM/CD)