Britain’s ‘science superpower’ ambition will mean nothing if we don’t upgrade our labs
The UK’s scientists are world-leading, but their research will be held back if we don’t upgrade our lab spaces and infrastructure, writes Orestis Tzortzoglou
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, delivered in November, confirms that the government is doubling down on its ambitions to transform Britain into a US-style supercluster akin to Silicon Valley. But for this to be achieved, the delivery of physical infrastructure that powers this drive will be vital.
Stepping up to the despatch box, Jeremy Hunt promised to bring forward his Mansion House reforms and invest £4.5bn over five years to attract investment in strategic sectors, like advanced manufacturing, technology and life sciences.
In a bid to replicate the success of US life sciences, the UK government is aiming to harness the financial power of pension funds to help start-ups and scale-ups commercialize research and discovery. Announced in July, the chancellor’s Mansion House Compact is an agreement by pension providers to allocate a minimum five per cent to unlisted equities through defined contribution (DC) pension funds, and other sources of long-term savings, by 2030.
To ensure the success of the government’s investment it must also extend its support beyond financial investment to research and development and recognise that there should also be a commitment to bolster strategic infrastructure in key supporting markets. Physical infrastructure comes in the form of both assets and buildings; investing in grid reinforcement to provide ample power, addressing water shortages and advancing sustainable transport initiatives will enable the UK to become a science superpower.
Strategic government policies aimed at fostering economic growth are successfully building an environment where innovators feel empowered to create and investors are encouraged to invest, effectively serving as a catalyst for progress and development.
A recent report from Beauhurst, titled Spotlight on Start-ups, found that Britain has experienced the biggest growth in life science patent applications across all big European markets in the past decade, while British academic spinouts secured £2.13bn of equity investment despite a global slowdown in fundraising levels across the science and technology sectors.
Investors are also buoyed by the government’s decision to double down on the ‘science superpower’ ambition by introducing policies that will allow start-ups and scale-ups to attract more institutional investment. Seventy venture capital and growth investors with a collective £100bn in assets under management have now signed up to the Venture Capital Investment Compact. The body’s primary purpose is to get more pension money flowing into start-ups.
It’s crucial to highlight that irrespective of market fluctuations (even though investor sentiment is currently upbeat), the progression of science is independent of economic cycles and continues its steady advance. The enduring need for long-term patient care and novel therapies persists; considering the vast spectrum of over 10,000 known diseases, cures have been found for only five per cent of them.
With the public and private sectors throwing their weight behind UK life sciences and global demographic trends driving a need for life-saving treatments, there is an urgent need to speed up the delivery of mission critical purpose-built facilities.
Because science happens in proximity, and not in isolation, space must be delivered in the right locations.
In Cambridge, a city that is home to a world-leading university and top UK life science companies, vacancy rates for lab and office space are under one per cent. Companies are vying for limited space, in turn locking out the types of start-ups and scale-ups that will spearhead the UK’s ambition to transform into a US-style supercluster.
Ground-breaking research and discovery cannot be undertaken from a kitchen table, meaning that unlike sectors like professional and financial services, UK life sciences’ growth depends on the delivery of more purpose built, suitable space.
There now exists a cross-party consensus that the UK’s Fourth Industrial Revolution will be powered by a digitally enabled economy that promotes the convergence of technology and science.
Such market fundamentals are the driving factors behind our decision to increase our strong presence in the UK. This expansion potential is designed to ensure that promising start-ups and scale-ups have access to critical lab spaces, preventing them from being locked out of the market. After all, it is physical infrastructure that will enable Britain to continue its positive trajectory in research and scientific discovery.