Kadans Science Partner has added The Science Quadrant, Abingdon, Oxford to its Pan-European science park portfolio. The asset was acquired from Addington Capital (PRA 2 S.A.R.L.). The Science Quadrant comprises four terraces of office and laboratory buildings totalling 75,316 sq ft. As part of the acquisition Kadans acquired the adjacent 1.59 acres of land which recently received planning permission for an additional c.20,000 sq ft of office and laboratory buildings.
Oxford is a global centre of excellence in life science innovation. The cluster is anchored by the University of Oxford which was recently named the number 1 university in the world (Times World University Ranking 2021). The University, supported by Oxford Science Innovation, has accelerated the movement of leading science out of the laboratory and onto the global stage driving increased real estate demand.
James Sheppard, Head of Commerce UK&I said: “We are delighted to be expanding our portfolio into the Oxford market. Oxford is a critical location for science and technology development. The addition of The Science Quadrant allows us to deliver the Kadans ecosystem and real estate proposition into one of Europe’s leading life science markets.”
With the acquisition of the assets, the Kadans portfolio now consists of over 40 buildings and numerous projects under development in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. In the UK Kadans now holds positions in three of the core life science & therapeutics markets, Oxford, Cambridge and Stevenage. Kadans aspires to partner with universities and organizations to create one strong ecosystem of science parks across Europe. Now backed by AXA IM – Real Assets, Kadans aims to strengthen its position as leader in the European life science and lab offices sector through the creation of innovation ecosystems to stimulate knowledge-sharing and cooperation.
Kadans was supported in this transaction by Bidwells & Creative Places a specialist R&D real estate consultant. Mills & Reeve acted as legal advisors for Kadans. Doherty Baines and Addleshaw Goddard LLP (legal) advised the vendor.