Knowledge Quarter developers Woodbourne have launched plans to build the first Investment Zone life sciences building outside London. Credit: Woodbourne

Woodbourne unveils £90m knowledge quarter biotech plans

10 March 2026 17:04 Mike Sheridan Comments (0)

The firm says its proposed 130,000 sq ft BioCity lab and office scheme will target life sciences SMEs priced out of London and Cambridge.

The purpose-built building will include fitted laboratories, offices and collaboration space and is the first UK Investment Zone life sciences building to come forward outside London, the developer says.

Woodbourne Group says its proposals, set to form the first phase of the firm’s 600,000 sq ft life sciences pipeline, will address a “structural gap” for Grade A lab space in the UK.

Situated within the £4bn Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, an innovation district backed by UK Investment Zone status, the building is set to offer tax incentives, reduced business rates and government-level support.

A planned canal-side walking route will connect the site to HS2 Curzon Street station in around eight minutes, with Birmingham-to-London journey times of 42 minutes once services begin.

“Birmingham BioCity is the first phase of a new life sciences cluster within the £4bn Birmingham Knowledge Quarter,” said Tani Dulay, chief executive of Woodbourne Group.

“Positioned next to the HS2 Innovation Line, it connects the development to the UK’s Golden Triangle talent and research pipeline while delivering institutional-grade laboratory infrastructure at a scale and cost those markets increasingly cannot match, uniquely strengthened by its full designation within the UK Government’s Investment Zone programme.”

Speaking after the launch of plans at MIPIM, Neil Rami, chief executive at the West Midlands Growth Company, said the development was a “major milestone in the development of Birmingham Knowledge Quarter”, while West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said the scheme would strengthen the region’s role at the “forefront of UK innovation”.

John Cotton, Leader, Birmingham City Council, added: “Birmingham has a proud history of innovation and Birmingham BioCity is set to further enhance our growing status as a premier, world-class hub for life sciences and health technology.

“Located at the heart of Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, our transformational, government-backed Innovation District, this state-of-the-art, sustainable development is the perfect place for thriving businesses looking to start up, scale and grow.”