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Laboratory and mid-tech take-up in Cambridge reached 22,600 sq ft across five deals during Q1 2025. The largest transactions of the quarter included Advent Bioservices taking two leases on the ground floor at Howard Group’s Cadence, Unity Campus, totalling 8,400 sq ft, while Orion Corporation secured 7,100 sq ft at the Bennet Building, Babraham Research Campus.

Although take-up was subdued, down 48% compared to Q1 2024, it remains in line with the average quarterly take-up recorded last year of 22,900 sq ft. Notably, 63,000 sq ft of laboratory and mid-tech space was under offer at the end of the quarter, providing reason for cautious optimism heading into Q2.

At the close of Q1, DTRE was tracking 639,000 sq ft of total demand, of which 317,000 sq ft was classed as active. While this figure is encouraging, a significant proportion of active demand is being driven by larger requirements, including Astex Therapeutics (90,000 sq ft) and Cellular Origins (60,000 sq ft), both advised by DTRE.

By way of supply, 231,300 sq ft of up-and-built laboratory space was available at the end of the quarter, with One Granta accounting for 34% of this total (79,700 sq ft).

No purpose-built laboratory reached practical completion in Cambridge in Q1; however shortly after the quarter’s end Phase 1 of Abstract’s South Cambridge Science Centre completed and brought 138,500 sq ft of best-in-class, highly flexible, and affordable lab space to the market. This transformative development offers purpose-built facilities designed specifically to meet the needs of the region’s growing life sciences ecosystem. Its location and specification position it as a premier destination for innovative companies seeking to establish or expand their presence in this globally significant research hub.

Q2 is expected to see the completion of Mission Street’s Phase 2 at The Press Foxton, delivering 64,400 sq ft to the market. We expect an additional 239,900 sq ft of space to complete later in the year at Longfellow’s CamLIFE, Brydell Partners’ First Step by Journey, and Churchman/Aviva’s Chesterford Research Park. Nevertheless, market sentiment remains cautious, with ongoing uncertainty in the wider economy continuing to weigh on occupier confidence, exacerbated by geopolitical developments such as the return of Trump.

Whilst the longer-term implications of his administrations policies are still being fully understood, we believe there are reasons to be optimistic as Trump’s shake-ups allow the UK to solidify its position at the forefront of global science and innovation and as a safe haven for a potential transatlantic scientific diaspora.

Venture capital funding into Cambridge-headquartered life sciences and biotech companies was subdued in Q1 2025. A total of £117 million was raised by 14 companies across 14 funding rounds. While this accounts for just 11% of total VC raised across the Golden Triangle, it represents a 6% increase on the previous quarter, and is on track to meet the pre-Covid 5-year average of £341 million raised per year.

Laboratory take-up in London totalled 20,200 sq ft in Q1 2025, with deals completed at Imperial’s I-HUB, Kadans’ MAYDE within Tileyard Quarter, and Life Science REIT’s Rolling Stock Yard. The quarter’s two largest transactions were at I-HUB, where MiNA Therapeutics took 7,200 sq ft and London Biofoundry signed for 5,800 sq ft. Additional activity included Epoch BioDesign taking space at Kadans’ MAYDE, while CFDX secured over 5,000 sq ft at Life Science REIT’s Rolling Stock Yard.

While London recorded the lowest take-up among the three Golden Triangle markets this quarter, it still reflects a promising start and is already 64% of the total recorded in 2024. Activity has doubled year-on-year (from 10,300 sq ft in Q1 2024) and was almost level with Cambridge in Q1, the most established science market.

With 139,300 sq ft of space under offer at the end of Q1, the market is well-positioned to exceed last year’s total by at least c.128,000 sq ft. Notable transactions still under offer include LifeArc for 70,000 sq ft at Ashby Capitals KOVA KX, and global pharma company Eli Lilly on 35,000 sq ft at Blackrock and GIC’s Apex, Tribeca. Given the volume of space under offer, the outlook for the remainder of 2025 is increasingly positive.

By quarter-end, DTRE was tracking 242,800 sq ft of active demand in London, alongside a further 177,000 sq ft categorised as upcoming or currently on hold. Of the total demand, 70% is concentrated in and around the Knowledge Quarter, with West London accounting for a further 10% in line with the relative immaturity of the market, 69% of demand is for space under 10,000 sq ft.

Supply stood at 480,700 sq ft of up-and-built, available laboratory space at the end of Q1. This includes newly delivered space at Apex Tribeca (approximately 110,000 sq ft), 20 Triton Street (providing over 30,000 sq ft), and The Refinery at ARC West London which brings approximately 122,800 sq ft of new space to market and marks the completion of the first wave of purpose-built lab developments in the capital.

Looking ahead, 2.7 million sq ft of space is currently under construction across London. Approximately 1 million sq ft of this is currently under construction in Canary Wharf, at Kadans’ One North Quay, and LS Estates’ 17CC LABS.

Unlike the more cautious funding landscape in Cambridge and Oxford, venture capital activity in London was strong in Q1. Life science and biotech companies headquartered in the capital raised £752 million, accounting for 51% of the UK total, 73% of Golden Triangle fundraising, and a 305% increase quarter-on-quarter. This already equates to 64% of the total raised in 2024. With positive momentum continuing into the year, there is hope that this will drive renewed confidence in the occupier market and reignite previously dormant requirements.

Oxford saw the highest take-up across the Golden Triangle markets in Q1 2025, reaching 44,100 sq ft. The largest transaction of the quarter occurred at The Oxford Science Park, where the Ellison Institute secured 25,500 sq ft at the Iversen Building, setting a new headline rent for fitted laboratory space. This milestone reflects strong momentum in the Oxford market and reinforces The Oxford Science Park’s prominent position within it.

A further 35,500 sq ft was under offer at the close of the quarter, with key space under offer at ARC’s Oxford Technology Park, Kadans’ Abingdon Science Park, and MEPC’s Nebula at Milton Park.

At the end of Q1, DTRE was tracking 652,200 sq ft of total demand, with 318,000 sq ft classed as active, representing a 15% decrease on the previous quarter. While active demand is down as uncertainty continues to weigh on the market, the interest by global pharma into Oxford is promising, with the likes of Vertex actively searching for 125,000 sq ft.

Available up-and-built laboratory space stood at 239,700 sq ft at quarter-end, with the majority of space available across Building One at the University of Oxford’s Begbroke Science Park (63,900 sq ft), Mission Street’s Inventa (38,400 sq ft) and across various buildings at ARC Oxford.

Although no new available laboratory developments were completed in the opening quarter, the delivery of Moderna’s Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) at Harwell marked a major milestone. The 145,000 sq ft facility underscores Harwell’s growing significance and represents a positive step forward for the wider Oxford market, especially when considering the opportunities for global pharma companies in the UK.

Looking ahead, the completion of Buildings 1 and 2 at Oxford North is expected next quarter, which will provide a combined 115,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space, with Breakthrough’s completion of Trinity House (214,000 sq ft) anticipated towards the end of the year.

Venture capital activity in Oxford saw a moderate uptick in Q1, with life sciences and biotech companies raising £165 million, a 13% increase quarter-on-quarter and 58% above the average quarterly figure in 2024, signaling improving investor sentiment.

Science & Technology Report:
Golden Triangle - Q1 2025

Science & Technology Report: Golden Triangle - Q1 2025

5 Things You Need to Know About Big Box Logistics in Q1 2025

The Big Box occupational market has started the year on a stable footing, with quarterly take-up largely consistent since the beginning of the ‘post-Covid’ era (Q1 ’23). Q1 ’25 saw just over 6.3 m sq ft across twenty-seven (27) transactions. There are currently thirty (30) Big Box units currently under offer, totalling 9.4 m sq ft. Q2 should still see take-up in-line, if not above the ‘post-Covid’ quarterly average of 6.7 m sq ft if, as the domestically-focused nature of the majority of the space under offer is unlikely to be affected by ‘Trump’s Tariffs’. The knock-on effect of Trump’s tariff policy, and the business uncertainty created by it, is more likely to be seen in Q3’s numbers, and beyond, if left un-resolved.

Breaking down the data further, 63% of transactions were from the 100-200,000 size-band of supply, which is consistent with the long-term average of 59%. Encouragingly, the 300-400,000 sq ft range, saw 5 lettings, its most active quarter of the last 3 years. For context, this is equivalent to 55% of 2024’s annual total for the same size-band.

The 3PL’s remained the most active business sector and accounted for 52% of all the space let in the quarter, with nine separate deals totalling 3.3m sq ft. The much talked about manufacturing ‘boom’ is yet to materialise, at least in the Big Box market. There were 8 separate deals to manufacturers in Q1, marginally ahead of the 7 deals manufacturers have averaged in each quarter of the last 10 years. 

DTRE expects defence and aerospace players to be active players in the remainder of the year with the UK and EU’s increased defence spending likely to result in additional manufacturing and storage space being required and these types of businesses are increasingly appearing on requirement schedules.

Whilst it’s too early to call the winners and losers of Trump’s tariffs policy, the on-shoring, near-shoring and friend-shoring trends that emerged post-Covid, when supply chains were significantly disrupted, could become increasingly prevalent. The UK’s eagerness to do a trade deal with Trump’s team could attract businesses unable to locate in the US but still keen to avoid the worst of the tariff charges being levied on other countries. However, this hypothesis still has a way to play out, yet.

What has become more obvious is that the US’s removal of its duty-free de-minimis rule for goods from China and Hong Kong from the 2nd May will see retailers taking advantage of the UK’s de-minimis rule to sell stock previously bound for the US. A potential knock-on effect being additional warehousing requirements from 3PLs associated with Shein and Temu, in-particular.

Geographically there has been a wide variance in regions performing above and below their usual averages. We’ll await to see how this plays out in the remainder of the year but when looking at Greater London in-particular, there is now reasonable evidence to suggest that there has been a fundamental shift in the occupier base and affordability concerns have paralysed leasing deals of 100,000 sq ft plus.  In London, there has not been a deal of 100,000 sq ft plus in over 18 months, despite 15 vacant units currently on the market in the capital.

Elsewhere, however, 2025 has started positively. Yorkshire has recorded 9 deals in Q1, totalling 1.85 million sq ft. That’s Yorkshire’s best quarter ever in terms of number of deals, eclipsing the 8 deals it recorded in Q2 2020 and the 7 deals recorded in Q3 2010. Other regions performed much closer to historic averages, with the East Midlands remaining the dominant region in terms of deal volume, totalling 2.44 million sq ft (39% of total UK volume).

The DTRE Big Box Vacancy Rate has risen slightly over the last 3 months to 7.3% from 7.2% at the end of Q4’24. New, large, spec built, additions to the supply schedule include Logicor’s Derby 507 (507,503 sq ft) and S440 Panattoni Park Sittingbourne (439,228 sq ft) and there is now 21.33 million sq ft of ‘New/Speculatively-Built’ units on the market and a further 37.58 million sq ft of ‘Second-Hand’ units, with supply totalling 58.9 million sq ft. However, with only 8.2 million sq ft of additional ‘New/Spec-built’ units coming online this year, we predict falling supply by Q4 ’25, even at average levels of occupier demand.

Rental growth has remained positive through Q1 with 1.1% growth for industrial, according to MSCI (0.5% retail; 0.8% office), and some regions have seen new headline rents set. In the South West, C110 Indurent Park let at £10.50 per sq ft and IMI Thompson Valves took a pre-let at £12.50 per sq ft on 100,316 sq ft in Poole. In the North West, Sterling Group agreed a sub-lease of Unit 4, Icon at Manchester Airport from THG at £10.50 per sq ft, whilst frozen food grocer Iceland agreed to pay £8.75 per sq ft on 367,000 sq ft at Ergo Park Oldham, a 13% premium to the original quoting rent when the building reached practical completion in late 2022.

DTRE continue to forecast above inflation rental growth for the remainder of this year at 3.7% for Big Boxes, with double-digit rents for prime/Grade A units firmly established in the core regions of the Midlands and North West by the end of 2025. Albeit in some pockets of the UK incentive packages have moved out, particularly where landlords are in competition to secure tenants.

There certainly has been an improvement in investor sentiment at the start of 2025 and whilst that has yet to translate into any meaningful deal volume, with just three single-let deals of £30m plus in the quarter, from this point on DTRE anticipates volumes and deal flow to pick-up meaningfully, despite ‘Trump’s Tariffs’. The fundamentals of UK logistics real estate are not changed by ‘Trump’s Tariffs’, whilst sentiment could likely be damaged in the very short-term, the cyclical nature of real estate and the increasing likelihood of additional rate cuts by the Bank of England means the UK’s logistics real estate could well be one of the best spots for global capital to put its money to work.

Across the entire industrial and logistics landscape for both single and multi-let, only £1.1bn traded in Q1, down 43% on the average quarterly deal volume witnessed in 2024. The biggest deal saw Indurent purchase the Langtree & PGIM Portfolio for in the region of £200m. The biggest single-let deals saw Valor complete the purchase of a 627,000 sq ft Tesco unit in Thurrock for £127.7m. 

Other significant deals of the last three-months saw Tritax Big Box REIT purchase a 626,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s in Haydock, Merseyside from Mutual Finance for £74.25m/5.76% with a WAULT of 8-years and new-entrant Europi Property Group purchase a 243,000 sq ft unit at Port One logistics park in Ipswich which is let to Hampshire Freight Services for 15-years.


Other smaller deals to note include Tritax, through their TaSC fund acquiring a single-let Ocado unit in Leyton, Walthamstow, London from LondonMetric for £15m/4.72% and Crossbay purchasing a 64,000 sq ft unit let to Restore Datashred for a further 3 years on Optima Park, Dartford for £13.53m/5.5%.

Despite the lack of deal volume, sentiment in the sector has improved markedly from where it was twelve to eighteen-months ago. As a result, DTRE expects liquidity and volumes to pick up over the next couple of quarters with a number of large ‘Big Box’ portfolios and single-let assets expected to be brought to market. However, the geopolitical noise and now the ‘Trump Tariffs’ will continue to act as a handbrake for some, potentially reducing the list of potential purchasers.

Nonetheless, within ‘the noise’ lies the opportunity. Whilst we don’t expect pricing to meaningfully change over the next quarter or two, by autumn the world could look very different and those long-term investors who are able to ‘cut through the noise’ could well have picked up a number of assets that will quickly begin to look relatively good value.

DTRE Big Box Logistics
Report - Q1 2025

DTRE Big Box Logistics Report - Q1 2025

Cut through the noise. At the moment there’s a plethora of topics that all have the ability to drive uncertainty through real estate markets. Whether it’s Trump’s tariffs, spiking gilt yields or National Insurance  contributions, the headlines can make for difficult reading. However, from a real estate perspective, 2025 is shaping up to be a positive year with investors on the front foot looking to capitalise on re-priced assets as the next cycle begins.

With inflation stabilising, DTRE expects the Bank of England to cut rates by 100 bps this year, leaving the Bank Rate at 3.75% by the end of 2025, and these interest rate cuts will provide further liquidity across real estate with pricing and valuations supported by the reduced cost of debt.

 From an occupational perspective, the post-Budget souring of sentiment and resultant downturn in consumer and PMI surveys is expected to be more of a soft-patch rather than a sustained slowdown. As a result, DTRE expects occupier demand to rebound across all the traditional real estate asset classes with rents supported by the supply and demand dynamics that have been further exacerbated in recent times due to rising construction and financing costs.

The logistics sector enjoyed a strong finish to 2024 across both the occupational and capital markets, and despite macro headwinds that momentum has carried on into the early weeks of 2025. In the occupier markets, 2024 was a strong year with take-up of Big Box units (100,000 sq ft) totalling 28.6m sq ft – 13% up on 2023’s total. That total was reached largely without any help from large e-commerce players, demonstrating the market’s depth beyond Amazon and pure-play online retailers.

Third-party logistics providers, grocers and physical retailers were active throughout 2024. While Amazon will be active once more in 2025 with several requirements in the market, we expect the big supermarkets, defence and aerospace-led contracts, and selective high-end manufacturers to be the major drivers of take-up this year.

In the capital markets, 2024 saw £8bn of industrial and logistics assets transact, but that total was reached primarily in the absence of any large pure-logistics portfolios to boost volumes. This year, we expect to see a continuation of the same themes, with investors targeting logistics and urban/multi-let assets with reversion potential. However, as we move through the year and debt becomes more accretive and supportive to valuations, we expect to see some larger portfolios trade.

We’re seeing confidence return to the science and technology market following the second-best year for fundraising on record. Many companies have already resumed their searches for space and started to make new commitments, with a particular surge in demand for larger requirements. We expect this positive momentum in the leasing market to continue through 2025, and drive capital markets activity, too.

Rumours have also begun to swirl around growing private equity interest in UK pharma and pharma services, with several players said to be deep into due diligence. Our expectations are high that these private equity speculations will materialise, providing a further boost to one of the country’s fastest-growing industries.

And finally, while Reeves’ plans for the Oxford- Cambridge Arc are a positive signal from government and should boost market confidence, similar commitments have been made before, in 2017 – so we won’t be holding our breath. Meeting the required commercial and residential capacity in the Arc will be impossible if the existing planning constraints remain in place.

The real test will come in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. To make meaningful inroads, Reeves will need to extend her ‘coalition of builders’ to local councillors and communities. However, if she is successful in her endeavours, it could require delivery of in excess of 80m sq. ft. of commercial workspace.

With investment in UK living totalling £14bn in 2024 – c.5% up on 2023 – private equity firms and pension funds are increasingly allocating capital to single-family housing, favouring them for their ease of construction and appeal to stable, long-term tenants. We believe that this sustained investment will drive a divergence in the single-family housing market, splitting into two distinct approaches.

On one side, traditional housebuilders will continue to focus on managing excess stock to address slowdowns in new-build sales. These housebuilders benefit from bulk sales through forward funding agreements, which provide them with liquidity and enable them to fund essential infrastructure for their developments.

The other side will feature purpose-built communities, combining multi-family housing principles with horizontal layouts, situated on brownfield land in well-connected urban hubs. With developers, contractors and funders working together in a tri-partite model, these amenity-rich developments will aim to attract renters choosing convenience and lifestyle over ownership.

Against a backdrop of NHS strikes and a national waiting list estimated at 8 million people, demand for private healthcare spaces will continue to rise with service providers looking to accommodate the rapid growth in the self-pay market and a surge in private medical insurance uptake.

For investors, the sector provides stability through long-term, often government-backed income streams. Index-linked leases and operators’ diversified revenue models – balancing self-funded and publicly funded care – enhance resilience, positioning healthcare as a lower-risk investment compared to other industries.

In 2025, we expect private healthcare to outperform other healthcare sub-sectors, fuelled by structural drivers such as the UK’s ageing population and chronic undersupply in senior living and medical office spaces. These factors will sustain demand across these critical segments, solidifying healthcare’s position as a reliable and attractive investment opportunity.

Retail is shaping up to be the ‘surprise sector’ of 2025, with rents climbing as retailers return to high streets and shopping centres. Driven by retail warehousing, we’re expecting institutional interest to reach its highest level in five years as consumer and retailer confidence strengthens.

Prime shopping centres and high street parades will still remain a focal point, while affluent suburban areas will see growth in smaller, convenience-driven retail formats to cater to localised shopping needs. We’re also expecting to see institutional investors continuing to revisit second tier shopping centres, sparking a liquidity rebound.

Experiential retail will continue to reshape the sector, with retailers leaning into immersive, in-store experiences to engage consumers. Demand for adaptable spaces will be driven by pop-ups and interactive events aiming to boost footfall and differentiate physical stores.

The contrast in leasing demand between best-in-class Grade A offices and lower-quality Grade B stock will continue, with many landlords of problem assets needing to make challenging decisions between cutting their losses, investing heavily to retrofit and refurbish, or exploring changes of use (e.g., PRS, BTR or hospitality) within the confines of planning legislation. A critical pinch point is already emerging, driven by rising development costs over the past five years, which have created a significant disparity between the demand for and supply of premium office spaces. As a result, rental growth is expected to continue, but again heavily weighted towards the sparse, premium stock.

As for capital markets, activity is likely to stay muted as long as interest rates remain high and global political uncertainty persists. While market sentiment has slightly improved, tangible signs of recovery have yet to materialise. Well-let Grade A offices in London and the Big Six should continue to offer attractive opportunities, but current owners’ reluctance to sell, due to loose yields, will likely limit transaction volumes.


That said, we anticipate some investors will focus on acquiring vacant possession buildings over the next 12 months, with plans to transform them into modern, top- tier workspaces. These upgraded assets will be well- positioned to meet occupier demand for sustainable, adaptable and high-quality office environments.

DTRE 2025 Outlook

Total science and technology take-up in Cambridge reached 99,300 sq ft across 14 deals by the end of 2024, comprising of 75,800 sq ft of laboratory space and 23,500 sq ft of mid-tech space. This represents a 65% decline year-on-year from 2023, and a 39% drop compared to the five-year average (2019–2023), as the post-COVID constraints on venture capital investment continued to bite, and affect occupier confidence.

The largest deal of the year involved Welbeck Health Partners, who secured 31,000 sq ft at the Orion Building on Howard Group’s Unity Campus. Another notable transaction was Vianautis taking 10,800 sq ft at Cadence also on the Park, with an additional 8,400 sq ft already exchanging there early in 2025.

At the close of Q4, 57,900 sq ft of laboratory and mid-tech space was under offer, with 20% of these transactions already completing in early 2025.

Turning to supply, the total available up-and-built laboratory space in Cambridge reached 224,400 sq ft by year-end, a 159% increase year-on-year, driven by projects like One Granta, which completed in 2024 and remains largely vacant. Despite a subdued year in take-up, and increased stock coming to market, Cambridge maintained the lowest vacancy rate among the Golden Triangle markets, reflecting its resilience and maturity.

DTRE is tracking 667,500 sq ft of total named demand, with 240,000 sq ft classified as active. By count, 13% of demand was for spaces below 10,000 sq ft, with the majority of requirements falling within the 10,000–30,000 sq ft range and the average requirement size being 26,500 sq ft. This highlights Cambridge’s standing as a mature science and technology market, bolstered by an established scientific ecosystem.

38 life science and biotech firms headquartered in Cambridge raised a total of £610 million in 2024 through 111 fundraisings and grants, reflecting a 15% decrease year-on-year. Despite this, the number of deals increased by 3%, a positive signal of market activity and increased investor confidence.

Laboratory take-up in London reached 30,400 sq ft across 15 deals in 2024, with all transactions for spaces under 5,000 sq ft. The largest wet laboratory lease was Baseimmune’s 3,350 sq ft at LBIC Apex, while 4,900 sq ft of dry lab space was taken by a confidential AI company at Caledonia House.

Although take-up was down 43% year-on-year and 62% below the five-year average (2019–2023), 107,000 sq ft was under offer at year-end, which, if completed in 2025, would exceed the five-year average by 33%.

Total demand for laboratory space reached 403,900 sq ft, with 247,700 sq ft categorised as active demand. Reflecting London’s status as the nascent science market, 63% of demand by count was for spaces below 10,000 sq ft, further segmented as 22% below 2,000 sq ft, 20% between 2,000–5,000 sq ft, and 22% between 5,000–10,000 sq ft.

As of year-end, 223,300 sq ft of laboratory space was available, with the bulk concentrated in the Knowledge Quarter, driven by the first wave of purpose-built labs reaching practical completion. In 2025, a further 

1 million sq ft of planned development is set to be delivered within the Knowledge Quarter, including Apex and Reflector at Tribeca, and Pioneer’s Victoria House.

Venture capital into London-based companies reached £1.18 billion in 2024 across 196 fundraisings and grants, accounting for 53% of the Golden Triangle’s total. This figure dramatically surpassed the five-year average (2019–2023) of £694 million and was the second best year on record, just 3.7% down on the COVID peak. With 72% of funding raised in the latter half of the year, we expect this momentum to carry forward into 2025 and revitalise on-hold demand for laboratory space.

Oxford led the Golden Triangle for laboratory take-up in 2024, with 190,100 sq ft occupied by science and technology firms and an additional 18,200 sq ft of mid-tech space transacted. While this marked a 7% year-on-year decline, it was 12% above the five-year average (2019–2023) of 186,500 sq ft, exceeding my earlier projections by 9%. Furthermore, 53,900 sq ft of laboratory space and 12,000 sq ft of mid-tech space was under offer at year-end, with 25,500 sq ft already transacted in 2025.

The largest deal of the year was Novo Nordisk’s lease of 61,000 sq ft at The Iversen Building on The Oxford Science Park, accounting for 29% of total take-up and ranking as Oxford’s third-largest laboratory deal since 2018, behind the Moderna deal in 2023 and Oxford Biomedica’s HQ lease in 2022.

At the close of 2024, 205,400 sq ft of laboratory space was available, with Building One at Begbroke Science Park contributing 63,900 sq ft to the total.

Demand for laboratory and mid-tech space in Oxford stood at 636,800 sq ft, with 373,000 sq ft categorised as active demand. Smaller units were prevalent, with 59% of active demand for spaces below 10,000 sq ft, while 33% targeted spaces between 10,000–30,000 sq ft. This demand pattern underscores Oxford’s position as the middle child of the Golden Triangle markets, blending relative maturity with growth potential.

Venture capital raised by Oxford-headquartered life science and biotech firms totalled £419 million in 2024, a 12% year-on-year decline. Despite this, Oxford has consistently recorded the lowest five-year average of venture capital raised among Golden Triangle markets (£628 million). Encouragingly, 36% of the total was raised in Q4, signalling a potential resurgence in fundraising activity throughout 2025.

Science & Technology Report: Golden Triangle - Q4 2024

2024 was a transformative year for sustainability.

The introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain, the launch of the first agreed methodology for net zero buildings under the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, and the pre-release of BREEAM New Construction Version 7, slated for formal launch in Q1 2025. 

There were also significant revisions to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, together with potentially transformative elections in the UK, US and elsewhere.

Our full report explores the key sustainability trends that shaped industrial and logistics transactions in 2024 and offers predictions for what lies ahead in 2025. A full copy is available on request but you can find our headlines below.

Sustainability within real estate begins with addressing effective operational 

 emerges from improved asset quality, and our data analysis demonstrates a strong correlation between 

 and rent achieved. When these elements align successfully, they contribute to a favourable 

DTRE’s 5Cs of Sustainability

5 Things You Need to Know About Big Box Logistics in Q4 2024

1. Big Box take-up for the year reached 28.6 million sq ft, 13% ahead of 2023’s 25.3 million sq ft and 17% ahead of the ‘Pre-Covid’ average (2007-19).

2. DTRE Big Box Vacancy Rate (all units over 100,000 sq ft) rose to 7.2% at the end of the year, up from 6.9% in Q3.

3. Speculative development remains low, with 9.5 million sq ft due to complete in 2025, down 25% on the 10-year average (2014-2024) of 12.6 million sq ft.

4. Industrial and logistics investment volumes totalled £2.4bn in the final quarter of the year, a 9% increase on the 10-year quarterly average. Pushing total volumes for the year to £8bn.

5. DTRE believe the recent move in the gilt market is overdone and will correct itself once the market realises that higher rates are ultimately disinflationary as tighter credit and the rising costs of capital will sap demand, reduce pricing power and ultimately mean the Bank of England can continue on its interest rate cutting cycle.

Despite the wider gloomy economic rhetoric that engulfed the UK during the last quarter of 2024, Big Box logistics take-up rounded out the year with a relatively strong finish, all things considered. Take-up in Q4 reached 9 million sq ft, which was 61% up on the slow Q3 we saw during the summer, 48% up on the ‘Pre-Covid’ 2007-19 average and the second best quarter since the end of 2021.

DTRE recorded 31 deals in the last three months of 2024, meaning it was the busiest quarter of the year and a total of 111 across the year which is 10% ahead of the long-run ‘Pre-Covid’ average. Total take-up for 2024 was 28.6 million sq ft, up 13% year-on-year and 17% ahead of the ‘Pre-Covid’ average.

The biggest transaction of Q4, and the year, by a distance saw Frasers pay £53.5 million to Harworth Group for a 278-acre site near Ansty in Warwickshire for their global HQ. The logistics element of the campus will see the development of five BREEAM Outstanding facilities totalling 3.3 million sq ft. In addition to Frasers, a confidential retailer took 967,177 sq ft at Symmetry Park Kettering from Tritax Big Box Developments and Rockwool signed for 520,000 sq ft at Peddimore, Birmingham. The biggest deal on standing stock saw Oxenwood let their second-hand OXW277 (277,000 sq ft) unit in Dunstable to JD Retail. DSV also leased 215,627 sq ft from ICG to occupy the final available unit at Mercia Park, Appleby Magna following JLR surrendering space.

Whilst Frasers, Nike and B&M were involved in three of the biggest deals of 2024, demand from the retail sector collapsed during the last twelve months. The 3.3 million sq ft Frasers deal, which was concluded on Christmas Eve, took the total volume acquired by retailers to 11.6 million sq ft, but that masks a wider slowdown as the actual number of deals done totalled just 18 for the year. That’s the fewest number of lettings to retailers on record, down 42% on the ‘Pre-Covid’ average and reflective of a wider slump in retail sales and consumer confidence.

Once more the manufacturing sector failed to pick-up much slack with just over 5.2 million sq ft of demand coming from the sector, which again reflected much of the data from the PMI manufacturing surveys and manufacturing GDP. DTRE are yet to see any substantial evidence of the often quoted ‘near-shoring’, ‘re-shoring’ and ‘friend-shoring’ occurring in the UK. Manufacturing take-up in 2024 was 22% behind the 10-year annual average of 6.7 million sq ft we witnessed from 2014-2023. 

Positively the 3PLs saw another strong year with take-up of 7.6 million sq ft across 2024, which outside of Covid was the second strongest year for take-up on record and 33% ahead of the 5.7 million sq ft 3PL’s typically took per annum prior to Covid (2007-19). This does suggest that the retailers were perhaps seeking to satisfy demand in shorter term, less capital intensive 3PL space with greater flexibility over future certainty of demand for space.

In terms of geographies, the East Midlands dominated take-up accounting for 30% with the supply constrained North West seeing just 2.4 million sq ft of take-up and the lowest level of take-up DTRE have recorded since 2009. Albeit with only 7.9 million sq ft of available standing stock, the North West has the least amount of supply of all the core regions (South East & London 8.8m sq ft; West Midlands 8.9m sq ft; East Midlands 12.7m sq ft; Yorks & Humber 9.3m sq ft), and just three new buildings available bigger than 200,000 sq ft.

The DTRE Big Box Vacancy rate (all units over 100,000 sq ft) did tick up slightly through the quarter and now stands at 7.2%, up from 6.9%. This was predominantly due to 1.35 million sq ft of ‘New’/Grade A product coming to the market whilst there was also an increase in Grade B space of 425,000 sq ft. Total supply stands at 54.35 million sq ft, up 15% year-on-year.

We mentioned last quarter how the pipeline for 2025 looked relatively sparse and that continues to be the case. DTRE are currently tracking 9.5 million sq ft of speculatively built Big Box (100,000 sq ft +) units that will be completed in 2025, which is down 25% on the annual average of 12.6 million sq ft of new spec development completions seen in each year from 2018 – 2024.

The largest number of new units is set to be delivered in units between 100-200,000 sq ft (16 units) but overall there’s a good spread across the other size ranges with Panattoni’s 770,000 sq ft A1M scheme in Harworth and GLP’s MPN761 at Magna Park Lutterworth the two biggest developments scheduled to complete in 2025.

DTRE expects 2025 to be a year of two-halves, with leasing volumes continuing at around their recent quarterly average of 5.5-6.5 million sq ft. Growth areas of the market should come from defence manufacturers as well as the retailers, driven by the return of the grocers. We expect the big grocers to continue in their pursuit of operational efficiencies and to return to the market in the latter half of the year and when allied with a pick-up in consumer sentiment this will help drive overall take-up volumes to be slightly ahead of what we have witnessed in 2024 at around 30 million sq ft.

In a similar vein to the leasing market, the capital markets enjoyed a strong end to the year with just over £2.4bn of industrial stock trading during the last three months of the year, the second-best quarterly total since the Truss/Kwarteng mini-budget in September 2022 and a 9% increase on the 10-year quarterly average (including the ‘Covid’ era).

Overall, industrial and logistics volumes totalled £8bn for 2024, with Big Box logistics assets accounting for 39% of that total. However, as the year ended fresh macro-economic concerns are taking hold once more (sticky and re-accelerating inflation coupled with anaemic UK growth prospects). As 2025 begins, those concerns are most evident in the UK’s gilt market, which is undergoing a significant correction and has potential to destabilise the fragile recovery.

The two largest deals of the last three months were both undertaken by new entrants to the UK’s logistics sector. Firstly, GoldenTree purchased Abrdn’s 40 asset/3.3 million sq ft Apex Portfolio for £351m/7.54% NIY (however only £183m of this was industrial and logistics). Secondly, RN3 Partners acquired Icon & Alpha at Manchester Airport from THG for £180m/4.94% NIY. Other Big Box deals of note were Sunrise’s purchase of a 756,000 sq ft Tesco unit on DIRFT for £105m/4.24% NIY and Mapletree’s purchase of a 629,000 sq ft GXO unit on Derby Commercial Park for £86.1m/5.37%.

Pricing in Q4 remained firm across the board and as had been the case for much of the year, for ‘prime’ product, there was a significant depth of prospective purchasers. Although Premier Park in Manchester and Enfield Distribution Park (ENDP) are more last mile/mid box in nature, both attracted significant interest from UK institutions as well as overseas platform investors. The result being that Premier Park traded 25% ahead of quote (£46.9m achieved vs £37.5m quote) and ENDP traded 10% ahead of quote (£110m achieved vs £100m quote).

Whilst the year looked to be ending positively and the market moving off the lows of the last two years a speed bump has certainly been hit in the last couple of weeks of 2024 which has continued into 2025 and is most evident in the bond market, with the UK gilt undergoing a significant correction in the last four weeks. In the last month the UK 10-year gilt has risen from 4.2% to stand at 4.8%. Whilst the reasons for this are numerous the knock-on effect will be felt within real estate and pricing of real estate assets.

Nevertheless, we believe the recent move in the gilt market is overdone and will correct itself once the market realises that higher rates are ultimately disinflationary as tighter credit and the rising costs of capital will sap demand, reduce pricing power and ultimately mean the Bank of England can continue on its interest rate cutting cycle.

However, there is now no consensus on how many cuts there’ll be this year, with two, three, four or five 25bps cuts all touted by City economists in recent weeks. Needless to say, real estate will respond positively to lower rates.

DTRE Big Box Logistics Report - Q4 2024

As of Q3 2024, laboratory take-up in Cambridge has reached 94,800 sq ft, with 42,300 sq ft transacted in this quarter alone, marking a 12% increase compared to the Q3 five-year average. At the close of the quarter, an additional 10,000 sq ft remains under offer at Cadence, Unity Campus.

Three key transactions contributed significantly to take-up: Immaterial secured 12,500 sq ft of mid-tech space at Accelerator Park, Sawston, and Biocrucible completed the assignment of AbCellera’s lease at the Emmanuel Building at Chesterford, covering 9,800 sq ft.

Overall, laboratory-led demand in Cambridge has reached 899,500 sq ft. Of this, 450,000 sq ft is classified as active demand, down slightly from last quarter as companies continue to wait for funding. The increase in overall demand, however, is mainly driven by larger requirements entering the market in Q3, reflecting Cambridge’s growing appeal to larger occupiers and solidifying its status as an established market.

Vacancies in Cambridge have however increased slightly due to the completion of developments such as 1 Granta Park. As of the close of Q3, 211,200 sq ft of available up-and-built laboratory space is on the market. Despite this rise, Cambridge maintains the lowest vacancy rate compared to Oxford and London, highlighting the resilience and maturity of the Cambridge science and technology market.

To date, Cambridge-based life science and biotech firms have raised £258 million through 67 fundraisings and grants in 2024. While total venture capital raised remains subdued when compared to recent years, the number of fundraisings aligns closely with the five-year average, maintaining confidence that raisings are being achieved, though of smaller amounts.

At the close of Q3 2024, laboratory take-up in London totalled 18,700 sq ft, with three deals having been completed during the quarter. Laverock secured 3,000 sq ft at LBIC Tribeca, as Baseimmune also took 3,350 sq ft of space there, and Myricx Bio acquired 2,000 sq ft at 20 Water Street.

London’s laboratory market remains in its growth phase, with deals so far this year focussing on fully fitted CL2 laboratory spaces under 5,000 sq ft. This reflects ongoing demand from early-stage companies and a developing ecosystem. Encouragingly, there is positive momentum, with an additional 90,600 sq ft of laboratory space under offer by the end of September. Assuming these deals complete before year-end, London will exceed its five-year average take-up (2019-2023) of 99,400 sq ft by 10%.

Total demand for laboratory space in London has reached 785,600 sq ft, with 363,200 sq ft classified as active demand. Notably, 75% of total demand is for space under 10,000 sq ft, reflecting the market’s focus on emerging companies seeking smaller, fully fitted laboratories. However, in recent months, there has been a significant rise in demand for larger spaces, with requirements for units ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 sq ft re-emerging in the market, making up 17% of demand.

This quarter saw a key development with Eli Lilly’s requirement resurfacing and focusing on Kings Cross. Although their space needs have reduced from 75,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft, this resurgence highlights the growing demand and improving market confidence in the sector.

A more favourable venture capital environment is fuelling this activity, with £1,026 million raised so far this year by life science and biotech firms headquartered in London, spread across 151 fundraisings and grants. This figure already represents a 48% increase over the five-year average of £694 million. Notably, London-based companies have contributed 66% of the total venture capital raised in the UK’s life science “Golden Triangle” in 2024.

However, despite the robust demand and positive funding landscape, 266,700 sq ft of laboratory space remains available, as the first wave of purpose-built lab buildings continues to enter the market.

In 2024, 103,100 sq ft of laboratory space has  transacted in Oxford, with a further 89,600 sq ft under offer. Notably, when we exclude the Moderna deal at Harwell in 2023, which comprised 65% of total take-up, take-up by the end of Q3 2024 is already 30% higher than the full year prior. If all current deals under offer are completed by year-end, Oxford is projected to surpass its five-year average take-up (2019-2023) by 3%. 


Significant deals include Nucleome securing 17,100 sq ft of fully fitted laboratory space at Inventa and Yellowstone completing 8,100 sq ft at Building 4100, ARC Oxford.

Demand for laboratory space in Oxford has reached 845,300 sq ft, with 503,600 sq ft classed as active demand. New large requirements, specifically those exceeding 50,000 sq ft, now represent 37% of active demand by area (185,000 sq ft).

Despite the strong demand, Oxford still has 255,000 sq ft of available laboratory space, mostly located in out-of-town science parks. In the city centre, Inventa remains the sole source of available laboratory space.

Oxford-based life science and biotech firms have raised £266 million across 43 fundraisings and grants in 2024. Similar to Cambridge, venture capital in Oxford remains limited, falling short of the five-year average of £628 million. However, the emergence of larger requirements in the market does indicate a gradual recovery in market confidence.

Science & Technology Report: Golden Triangle - Q3 2024 

5 Things You Need to Know About Big Box Logistics In Q3 2024

Q3 2024 Big Box take-up has reached 18.4 million sq ft. That’s ahead of 2023 (18.2 million sq ft) but slightly behind pre-Covid averages. The traditionally slower summer market saw 5 million sq ft transact, with the biggest letting being Cain International’s Link674 in Ellesmere Port (674,000 sq ft).


After twelve successive quarters of decline in the rolling annual take-up – Q2 had seen an uptick of 5.6%, suggesting a floor to demand may have been reached. However, that uptick has since been reversed with Q3 impacted by the slower summer months and lack of bigger deals – with only one deal bigger than 500,000 sq ft and only twenty-four deals in total (on average Q3 has seen 44 deals over the last 10 years).

Activity was noticeable from the 3PL’s with EVRi taking three units in Sheffield, Avonmouth and Lutterworth with distributors generally accounting for 39% of the deal volume. The retailers accounted for the largest share of deals with retailers accounting for 44% by deal volume. Tesco at Mountpark Hinckley (491,000 sq ft) and B&M Retail at Link 674, Ellesmere Port (674,264 sq ft) the two standout deals.

A current theme ‘deal friction’ – the time taken for transactions to complete; DTRE are currently tracking close to 9 million sq ft of units that are under offer, of which over half were under offer at the end of Q2. 

In a normal cycle we would have expected these deals to have concluded and added close to 4.5 million sq ft to the total – which would put overall volumes ahead of 2023 (18.2 million sq ft) and the pre-Covid average (21.1 million sq ft).

The DTRE Big Box Vacancy rate (all units over 100,000 sq ft) has remained stationary at 6.8% through the quarter. Vacancy rates have remained unchanged overall even though new build supply is falling because tenants are ‘upscaling’ - they continue to vacate older second-hand units and occupy new and better units. New build units now represent only 35% of total supply - down from over 40% in the previous quarter.

New speculative developments; there is currently only 8.19 million sq ft under construction, of which 6 units (39% by square foot) are in units of over 400,000 sq ft and 39% are due to complete in the remaining three months of this year.

There is just 5 million sq ft of speculative developments to be delivered in the next 12 months – which without any further additions would be the lowest level of speculative completions since 2017 (4.8m sq ft). Even with significant additions 2025 looks set to be well behind the 12.6 million sq ft we’ve seen on average in each year from 2018 – 2024.


Rental growth has remained elevated, despite the effects of inflation fading, ensuring ‘real’ rental growth is being delivered to the sector. In the twelve months to August 2022 distribution warehouse rents grew 14.2% before falling to 6.3% by September 2023.

Rental growth has remained in that range for the subsequent 12 months and at the end of August ’24 annualised rental growth was 5%. However, at the same time the consumer prices index measure of inflation (CPI) has fallen from 11.1% in October 2022 to 2.2% for year to end August 2024.

There is a renewed sense of optimism that we are moving off the bottom and a new cycle is about to begin. The Bank of England’s 25bp rate cut was a positive step but was already ‘priced in’. The next cuts should provide confidence, as the pricing on 5-year swaps and 10-Year gilts move towards sub 3.5% and 3.8%, respectively. Significant dry powder continues to target the sector, and with supply set to fall in 2025, and rents likely to rise, buyers conviction should return.

Q3 saw £1.2 bn of deals complete, with the largest transaction in the sector being Prologis’ purchase of Western Avenue Business Park for £125.05 million from DTZIM, and marking their first significant deployment in over a year. The largest single asset transaction was Pontegadea’s 1st purchase of a UK logistics asset at SEGRO Park, Heathrow for £65.5m. The largest portfolio was Mirastar & KKR’s purchase of Project Tournament a collection of five single let “Big Box” assets for £115.25m. DTRE advised the purchasers on all three transactions.

The £1.2 bn transacted in Q3 has resulted in volumes reaching £4.4bn by the end of September, 8% ahead of the pre-Covid average (2010-19). Of note is that this is the first quarter of the year where volumes were not supported by large M&A activity, with five deals over £50m equating to 44% of the volume during the quarter. 

The further anticipated rate cuts should help grease the wheels of the capital markets, with 5-year swaps now trading at 3.6%, down from 4% in early June and the cost of debt on good quality logistics assets shrinking by c.120 bps since the start of Q2’24.

However, whilst Q4 will likely be busier, typically there remains a 25bps ‘bid/ask spread’ – with core investors starting to return we are seeing the return of competitive tension and the potential for that gap to start closing. Outside of the Big Box sector we have seen examples of this with reversionary mid box schemes trading in the low to mid 3’s.

DTRE Big Box Logistics Report - Q3 2024

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between sustainability credentials, rental growth, and investment value within the industrial and logistics market. By examining data from 133 million sq. ft. of leasing transactions, conducting a solar survey with 20 companies, and engaging 125 participants across 80 firms in a sustainability survey, we uncover key insights into how sustainable practices impact asset performance. 

The findings reveal that properties with strong sustainability credentials not only attract higher rents but also deliver greater investment value and resilience in the market. This report serves as an essential guide for investors and developers, offering practical tips and insights into ways investors and developers can capitalise on the evolving landscape.

Investors are becoming sustainable investment intelligent, with 74% considering ESG in every transaction and 56% costing decarbonisation pathways during acquisitions. 

Despite no legislative pressure, the market is targeting Green+ refurbishments driven by perceived rent and yield premiums.

The rental premium between EPC A and B is widening, but there is no premium for EPC A+.

The rise of green capital is not only targeting prime assets, offering a yield improvement of 10-25 bps but also paying a premium for assets that have a clear decarbonisation strategy.