BW: Workplace Experts and Bulb Laboratories announced they have entered into a new agreement to jointly deliver high-value research, innovation and manufacturing facilities in the science and technology sector. This move reflects the demand and interest from laboratory users, property investors and owners for real estate of this kind.
The UK life sciences sector is increasingly important to the UK economy, generating almost £81bn in annual turnover in 2019 with the government committing to increase R&D spending in life sciences research to 2.4% of GDP by 2027*. This exciting new chapter for BW and Bulb Laboratories bridges the gap between science and construction, uniting both companies’ expertise in developing workspaces for state-of-the-art laboratories. BW’s specialism in fit-out and refurbishment and its commitment to completing all projects to DF@PC or Defect Free at practical completion standard combines with Bulb Laboratories’ experience in building feasible compliant design for the scientific community.
The JV will satisfy the science sector’s increasing appetite for flexible environments, as well as specific workspace needs around the rise of automation, the increasing importance of computational approaches, plus specialist containment requirements and meeting regulatory compliance.
The combination of science with scale provides this fast-growing sector with a practical approach. It ensures schemes remain viable and not over-engineered with clearer lines of communication via a collaborative ‘turnkey’ solution and enables clients to strive for Net-Zero Carbon goals and a more sustainable environment.
“This is an exciting step as we bring together the best of both companies to enable, design and build advanced laboratories,” said Steve Elliott, CEO of BW: Workplace Experts. “This, together with our alliances with overseas partners HITT and SHAPE, is a strategic partnership that strengthens our vertical capabilities as we continue to expand our services portfolio.”
“This partnership will allow us to capitalise on BW’s capability to deliver projects between £4M and £40M, with Bulb’s experience of next-generation laboratory design,” said Paul Horsburgh, joint MD, of Bulb Laboratories. Derek Jones, Bulb Laboratories’ joint MD, added, “both companies maintain their independence yet can collaborate when it makes sense to share expertise and experience.”
This partnership between BW: Workplace Experts and Bulb Laboratories provides a unique combination of specialist science knowhow plus construction expertise to allow clients to confidently bring their life sciences aspirations to life.