Bruntwood SciTech, a specialist property provider, has selected Willmott Dixon as the main contractor for the Greenheys development at Manchester Science Park in Manchester, UK.
The £60m ($75m) project is expected to bolster Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor as a centre for life sciences and technology innovation.
It is also seen as a significant advancement for Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture comprising Bruntwood, Legal & General and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
Spanning 131,000ft² across six floors, Greenheys is being established to enhance the availability of specialised laboratory spaces, catering to biotech, genomics, diagnostics, as well as precision medicine businesses.
The development will also feature UK Biobank’s future headquarters, occupying three floors of the Greenheys building.
The new laboratory space of UK Biobank will have various facilities such as a robotic freezer for storing/retrieving up to 20 million biological samples and enhancing the speed of scientific research.
The project's proximity to other institutions and the UK’s National Health Service, supported by the University of Manchester, further underscores the strategic importance of the development.
Greenheys will also provide a variety of specialist Containment Level 2 labs and supporting office space, ranging from 2,500ft² to 22,000ft² floors.
The building will incorporate technical features such as piped gas distribution systems, increased vibration resistance, high-security access, enhanced cooling and ventilation systems, and superfast internet connectivity.
Greenheys, which aims to be the UK's first 100% electric and net-zero carbon lab space in shared areas, is being developed in compliance with Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology Excellent status.
It is expected to be completed in mid-2026.
The latest development is part of a broader commitment by Bruntwood SciTech since it received an additional £500m in funding in October 2023.
Willmott Dixon North managing director Anthony Dillon said: “We share Bruntwood SciTech’s passion for nurturing local community talent and powering the regional economy, so we are committed to investing £16.8m into local skills and businesses.
“Within that, we will create 380 weeks of apprenticeships, four T-level placements, engage hundreds of local students and deliver our Building Lives Academy skills programmes, designed to upskill and inspire Mancunians leaving care and those not in education, employment or training.”
