Take-up of science-related real estate across the ‘Golden Triangle’ of London, Oxford and Cambridge fell 14% in H1 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest data from Savills.
Overall, Golden Triangle take-up totalled 488,534 sq ft in H1 2025 with London accounting for 117,500 sq ft of activity – an increase of more than 66% on last year’s H1 figure.
In Cambridge, take-up reached 264,399 sq ft in H1 2025 – a circa 7% increase on H1 2024, which can largely be attributed to ARM taking more than 95,000 sq ft at its campus at Peterhouse Technology Park (pictured). In Oxford, take-up of science-related real estate in H1 2025 fell to 106,635 sq ft.
Tom Mellows, head of Savills science UK, said: “H1 2025 has continued to show areas of positivity for the science sector in the UK, with a raft of announcements that look to maintain momentum in to the second half of the year. The government’s Life Science Sector Plan is set to include new measures to create business friendly regulation, introduce low-friction procurement, whilst also at the same time supporting high potential UK companies to scale, invest and remain in the UK.
“A review of the capital raising data shows that life science-related VC funding is approaching £2bn at the halfway point of the year. This is despite geopolitical headwinds throughout Q2. This suggests that VC funding will exceed the £3.7bn seen in 2024. While many occupiers have prioritised science over real estate in the last year, we anticipate a shift back towards active requirements across all three markets later in the year.”
