Bruntwood SciTech, the joint venture between leading property company Bruntwood and Legal & General Capital which owns Alderley Park, is to develop 50K SF of new laboratory space now, with a further 100K SF to come.

The £10M investment will see the extension of Alderley Park’s Mereside life science campus in Cheshire. The Park is already seeing a £160M investment by Bruntwood SciTech.

“We see strong demand for high quality space and have great confidence in what we can offer — world class facilities and competitive rates, all within the context of a deep talent pool, a well-functioning ecosystem, business support and a lifestyle offer that just works for people," Alderley Park Managing Director Chris Doherty said.

Announcements about the new laboratory space follow on from the decision to launch the 150K SF Glasshouse collaborative workspace designed for tech companies, due for completion in summer 2019.

The new lab space comes as Manchester grabs an opportunity to take the lead in the U.K. science sector.

It comes soon after it was revealed that a new genomics campus will be created at Manchester Royal Infirmary following a deal with German specialist Qiagen. The city council-backed plan — which unlocks funding for the campus — will put Manchester in the leading position in the U.K. push into the genomics sector.