The Welsh biotech sector will benefit from 54,500 square feet of new lab space after property developer Pioneer Group secured planning permission for the site Cardiff Edge Science Park.
The space will be available to life science and biotech firms of all sizes, from startups and scaleups to major multinational companies.
The lab development is located five miles north of Cardiff’s city centre, in close proximity to three local universities producing graduates that can contribute to the growing South Wales biotech cluster.
“Our expansion plans at Cardiff Edge will ensure crucial capacity for the growth and development of various exciting fields of healthcare – such as genomics, diagnostics and other sub-sectors,” said Pioneer Group director Simon Hoad.
“State-of-the-art designs will introduce flexible layouts that will harness the power of collaboration to drive first-rate research and knowledge outcomes.”
Pioneer Group’s assets currently consist of over four million square feet of highly leased office, lab and manufacturing space across the UK and Ireland. The group has property in key hubs including London, Cambridge, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.
Earlier this year, Pioneer unveiled plans to build up the Kent life science sector with 14,000 square feet of lab space.
A report last year found that Oxford and Cambridge, one of the country’s largest life science clusters, was suffering from limited lab space.