Takeup of science-related real estate across the UK’s Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge was up 35% in the first quarter, according to Savills, with Cambridge accounting for nearly two-thirds of that space.

Lettings reached 457K SF in Q1 2026, 35% above the quarterly five-year average. Cambridge recorded 298K SF of takeup to a range of major global technology and science-led occupiers, including Nvidia, Huawei and Aveva.

A number of occupiers committed to scaled-up size requirements, which Savills said signalled confidence among more mature science and technology companies.

Both London and Oxford had more muted starts to the year, recording just under 80K SF each, with deals including Gilead taking 50K SF at 1 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London, and Steris taking 18K SF at Grove Business Park in Oxfordshire.

Savills said 29% of combined takeup was for labs, 47% for offices and 24% for industrial space, with the proportion of lab space remaining relatively stable over the past five years.

Another 371K SF of letting transactions are currently under offer across the Golden Triangle, according to the agent.

“2026 has got off to a good start for the science sector, building on the positive momentum we saw in the market at the end of 2025,” Savills Head of UK Science Tom Mellows said in a statement.

“It has been particularly encouraging to see the broadening areas of frontier science, innovation and technology active across the market from sectors such as quantum, materials, climate, clean energy, computing, autonomous vehicles, robotics and life sciences."

Many of these occupiers need a range of enhanced spaces, including wet labs, dry labs, clean rooms, advanced manufacturing and pilot plants, Mellows said. Savills has also seen artificial intelligence having an increasing impact on the market and driving demand, with many of these companies utilising it to accelerate their research or enhance their products, he added.