Wates has been chosen to convert Grade-II listed Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square, central London, into a 300,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art life sciences hub, with the main phase due to be complete in Autumn 2024.

Oxford Properties Group (Oxford), a leading global real estate investor, developer and manager, and Pioneer Group, the UKs first nationwide company to combine laboratory development and operation with venture building, have appointed Wates as the main build contractor.

The company plans to convert 220,000 sq ft of the building's 300,000 sq ft internal area into Grade A wet lab-enabled life sciences space. The property's floor-to-ceiling height, internal infrastructure and scale of the floor plates mean it is well suited for life sciences conversion. It has been designed to house an ecosystem of occupiers ranging from start-ups in designated incubator spaces, to larger pharmaceutical companies as well as firms supporting the life sciences industry.

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The property will feature 80,000 sq ft of office, amenity, meeting, and retail spaces to provide an exceptional employee experience for end users, highlighted by heritage meeting rooms, an eighth-floor club lounge, and a roof terrace overlooking central London.

In November, Oxford and Pioneer Group welcomed the BioIndustry Association (BIA) as the property's first life science ecosystem occupier at an opening event attended by 200 people at Victoria House in the newly opened Victoria House Lounge. Following the completion of an initial phase to create an office area on the ground floor of the building, the BIA, the trade association for UK life sciences, has taken the space which will serve as its new headquarters.

The cutting edge development will have customer wellbeing and sustainability at its core, with the project on track to achieve BREEAM 'Excellent' certification. Wates' partnership with SES Engineering Services, will work to reduce the operational and embodied carbon footprint of the building through renewable technology and implementing modern methods of construction, such as utilising offsite prefabricated modules for mechanical and electrical (M&E) services. The existing M&E infrastructure will be upgraded, including installing energy-efficient LED lighting and heat recovery throughout the air conditioning system. The finished building will also be primarily heated by air source heat pumps.