Life Science Research Report
Spring 2025
Welcome to Carter Jonas’ Life Science Research Report Spring 2025, our biannual update on the outlook for the life sciences sector across the UK, focusing on the key markets of Oxford, Cambridge and London as well as a regional spotlight on Manchester.
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UK
Oxford
Cambridge
London
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London
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Cambridge
London
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Oxford
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UK
Cambridge
Manchester
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UK
Oxford
London
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UK
Oxford
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Cambridge
Matt Lee
Head of Science and Technology
+44 (0) 7815 469 115
EMAIL ME
Jon Silversides
Commercial Agency Oxford
+44 (0) 7720 537 141
EMAIL ME
Will Rooke
Commercial Agency Cambridge
+44 (0) 7899 081 027
EMAIL ME
Alex Tross
Commercial Agency Midlands
+44 (0) 7789 027 191
EMAIL ME
Rad Radev
Associate Research Analyst
+44 (0) 7815 039 628
EMAIL ME
For more detail on the life science market, download the full research report.
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Attracted by the extensive talent pool and favourable business environment, investors have continued to fund life sciences companies based in the capital, although at a slower pace than previous years.
…in 2023, just over 75% of the office/lab space leased was by technology and life sciences companies, from early-stage startups to large and mature firms.
Cambridge
Oxford
Further new build schemes at The Harwell Campus and Oxford North totalling circa 600,000 sq ft are underway, of which 45,000 sq ft at Harwell has been pre-let.
Cambridge Take Up by Occupier Type 2023
Source: Carter Jonas
London Life Science Funding ($m)
Source: Carter Jonas, Crunchbase
UK
Investment
Employment
Deals
Investment and the Latest Funding Deals in the UK
-10% - 10%
11% - 30%
31% - 50%
51% - 70%
71% - 90%
Life Science employment % change 10-years
East Midlands
East of England
London
North East
North West
Northern Ireland
Scotland
South East
South West
Wales
West Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber
7.29%
34.53%
36.75%
74%
74.93%
45.59%
33.82%
42.89%
-1.20%
48.46%
15.04%
3.07%
Scotland
33.82%
North East
74%
North West
74.93%
Yorks & Humber
3.07%
East Midlands
7.29%
West Midlands
15.04%
Wales
48.46%
South West
-1.20%
South East
42.89%
London
36.75%
East
34.53%
Northern Ireland
45.59%
Glasgow
$24,534,731
Life Science Funding 2024 ($)
Birmingham
Bristol Cambridge
Coventry
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Leeds
London
Newcastle
Nottingham
Oxfordshire
Warwick
Other Clusters
1,285,800
19,794,035
2,721,253,524
14,377,462
111,567,550
24,534,731
4,692,576
2,988,748,654
18,589,274
28,633,406
1,435,657,779
600,00,000
428,104,874
WHAT ARE THE FUNDING TYPES?
Edinburgh
$111,567,550
Newcastle
$18,589,274
Leeds
$14,377,462
Nottingham
$28,633,406
Cambridge
$2,721,253,524
London
$2,988,748,654
Bristol
$19,794,035
Oxfordshire
$1,435,657,779
Birmingham
$1,285,800
Manchester
$36,848,749
Oxford
Summit Therapeutics
Post-IPO Equity
$435,000,000
Immunocore
Post-IPO Debt
$350,000,000
Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Series B
$100,000,000
Cambridge
AstraZeneca
Post-IPO Debt
$1,515,556,648
Bicycle Therapeutics
Post-IPO Equity
$555,000,000
Nuclera
Series C
$76,457,935
London
Verona Pharma
Post-IPO Debt
$650,000,000
Autolus
Post-IPO Equity
$350,000,000
LivaNova
Post-IPO Debt
$300,000,000
Bristol
CellVoyant
Seed
$9,592,919
Argonaute RNA
Venture - Series Unknown
$2,270,086
EarSwitch
Seed
$1,518,839
Edinburgh
EnteroBiotix
Series B
$29,258,746
MiAlgae
Series A
$18,424,980
Cumulus Oncology
Seed
$11,434,728
Glasgow
Glox Therapeutics
Series C
$43,590,886
Microplate Dx
Seed
$5,372,300
Bio-Images Drug Delivery
Seed
$3,127,013
Newcastle
Newcells Biotech
Venture - Series Unknown
$4,478,829
GlycanAge
Seed
$4,200,000
Amlo Biosciences
Venture - Series Unknown
$2,025,991
Leeds
Adsilico
Seed
$4,439,382
Manchester
F2G
Series H
$100,000,000
Phagenesis
Series D
$42,000,000
Genedrive
Post-IPO Equity
$2,630,040
Birmingham
FourPlus Immersive
Grant
$1,286,403
Nottingham
Locate Bio
Venture - Series Unknown
$11,554,784
Neupulse
Seed
$7,042,203
4D Biomaterials
Series A
$4,380,580
Angel
An angel round is typically a small round
designed to get a new company off the ground. Investors in an angel round include individual angel investors, angel investor groups, friends, and family.
Pre-Seed
A Pre-Seed round is a pre-institutional seed round that either has no institutional investors or is a very low amount, often below $150k.
Seed
Seed rounds are among the first rounds of
funding a company will receive, generally while
the company is young and working to gain
traction. Round sizes range between $10k–$2M,
though larger seed rounds have become more
common in recent years. A seed round typically
comes after an angel round (if applicable) and
before a company’s Series A round.
Venture - Series Unknown
Venture funding refers to an investment that
comes from a venture capital firm and describes Series A, Series B, and later rounds. This funding type is used for any funding round that is clearly a venture round but where the series has not been specified.
Glossary of Funding Types
Series A and Series B
Funding rounds for earlier-stage companies and
range, on average, between $1M and $30M.
Series C
These rounds and onwards are for later stage
and more established companies. These rounds
are usually $10M+ and are often much larger.
Equity Crowdfunding
Platforms that allow individual users to invest
in companies in exchange for equity. Typically
on these platforms the investors invest small
amounts of money, though syndicates are
formed to allow an individual to take a lead on
evaluating an investment and pooling funding
from a group of individual investors.
Product Crowdfunding
In these rounds, a company will provide its
product, which is often still in development, in
exchange for capital. This kind of round is also
typically completed on a funding platform.
Private Equity
A private equity round is led by a private equity
firm or a hedge fund and is a late stage round. It
is a less risky investment because the company
is more firmly established, and the rounds are
typically upwards of $50M.
Debt Financing
In a debt round, an investor lends money to a
company, and the company promises to repay
the debt with added interest.
Convertible Note
An ‘in-between’ round funding to help
companies hold over until they want to raise
their next round of funding. When they raise the
next round, this note ‘converts’ with a discount
at the price of the new round. You will typically
see convertible notes after a company raises, for
example, a Series A round but does not yet want
to raise a Series B round.
Secondary Market
A secondary market transaction is a fundraising
event in which one investor purchases shares
of stock in a company from other, existing
shareholders rather than from the company
directly. These transactions often occur when
a private company becomes highly valuable
and early stage investors or employees want
to earn a profit on their investment, and these
transactions are rarely announced or publicized.
Grant
When a company, investor, or government
agency provides capital to a company without taking an equity stake in the company.
Corporate Round
This occurs when a company, rather than a
venture capital firm, makes an investment in
another company. These are often, though not necessarily, done for the purpose of forming a strategic partnership.
Post-IPO Equity
This round takes place when firms invest in a
company after the company has already gone public.
Initial coin offering (ICO)
A means of raising money via crowdfunding
using cryptocurrency as capital. A company
raising money through an ICO holds a
fundraising campaign, and during this campaign,
backers will purchase a percentage of a new
cryptocurrency (called a “token” or “coin”),
often using another cryptocurrency like bitcoin to make the purchase, in the hopes that the new
cryptocurrency grows in value.
Post-IPO Debt
This takes place when firms loan a company
money after the company has already gone
public. Similar to debt financing, a company will
promise to repay the principal as well as added
interest on the debt.
Post-IPO Secondary
This round takes place when an investor
purchases shares of stock in a company from
other, existing shareholders rather than from
the company directly, and it occurs after the
company has already gone public.
Non-Equity Assistance
This round occurs when a company or investor
provides office space or mentorship and does
not get equity in return.
Funding Round
The general term used for a round when
information regarding a more specific
designation of the funding type is unavailable.
For more commentary, download the full research report as a PDF.
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Life Science Research Report
Spring 2024
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Welcome to Carter Jonas’ Life Science Research Report Spring 2024, our biannual update on the outlook for the life sciences sector across the UK, focusing on the key markets of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
Jump straight to a section:
UK
"Resilient Growth & Innovation Amid Economic Challenges, Poise for Expansion"
"Thriving Innovation Backed by Strong Investment & Growing Infrastructure"
Oxford
"Surge in Funding and Demand Outpace Supply, Spurring Redevelopment & Rent Increases"
Cambridge
London
"Overcoming Urban Constraints to Foster Growth in Biotech, Digital Health & Medtech Amid Rising Investment"
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View this page on desktop to see interactive maps illustrating regional clusters, life science employment % change over 10 years and funding deals.
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UK
The Oxford Science Park and Mission Street recently completed their Iversen and Inventa buildings, respectively. Further new build schemes at The Harwell Campus and Oxford North totalling circa 600,000 sq ft are underway, of which a third has already been pre-let.
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Oxford
Oxfordshire Office/Lab Take Up by Spec
Source: Carter Jonas
Office
5%
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Manchester
Coventry
$14,377,462
Warwick
$60,000,000
Glasgow
Solasta Bio
Series A
$13,950,820
Nami Surgical
Seed
$3,123,298
Microplate Dx
Grant
$1,897,344
Oxfordshire Office/Lab Under Construction by Spec
Source: Carter Jonas
Lab Ready
Lab Enabled
Hybrid
Fitted Lab
Office
Office 4.85%
Hybrid 16.96%
Lab ready 49.61%
Lab enabled 17.37%
Fitted Lab 11.22%
Healthy demand from science and tech occupiers continues to support office/lab leasing activity.
Cambridge Take Up by Occupier Type in 2024
Source: Carter Jonas
Life Science
28%
Technology
44%
Other
15%
Business & Professional Services
10%
Healthcare
4%
At the heart of London’s attraction to innovative life science companies are its research districts, which have naturally developed around major hospital and university sites.
London Development Pipeline - Expected Completion
Source: Carter Jonas
2025
2026
2027
2028
627,488 sq ft
1,259,441 sq ft
489,702 sq ft
2,163,664 sq ft
Manchester
For more commentary, download the full research report as a PDF.
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UK
Oxford
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Cambridge
The innovation district in Manchester comprises a unique cluster of assets, including Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester, and Manchester Metropolitan University.
Manchester Life Science Funding ($m)
Source: Carter Jonas
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
London
Manchester
Manchester
Manchester
London
49.61%
4.85%
11.22%
16.96%
Lab ready
Lab ready
Hybrid
Fitted lab
London
"London's life sciences ecosystem is diverse"
At the heart of London’s attraction to innovative life science companies are its research districts, which have naturally developed around major hospital and university sites.
London
London Development Pipeline - Expected Completion
Source: Carter Jonas
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