Knight Frank held a launch party for its new Cambridge office, at which guest speaker Dr Sally Ann Forsyth delivered a masterclass on the science and innovation market.
Nearly 80 people from a wide range of local businesses joined the company at its site in the impressive new Fora building on Station Road for the event.
Knight Frank’s head of Cambridge, Iain Keys, told them of the team’s excitement at extending its network.
“A local presence and intimate knowledge of our markets is a key part of the Knight Frank DNA,” he said.
Speaking to the Cambridge Independent, Iain explained that he “jumped at the chance” to head up the new office.
“Knight Frank is a really strong brand, known for its quality advice and research, and there are good people in the business,” said Iain, who brings years of experience in development consultancy and investment within the life science sector to the company.
Following a spell in serviced office space, the company has moved to the Fora site in what Iain described as a sign of its commitment to the Cambridge market, and it brings with it a complete set of services.
In addition to its life science work, it has a residential sales team, including associate Michael Houlden, a well-known face in the city too.
“We also offer rural asset management, with some of the team that run, for example, the Holkham Estate in north Norfolk, and we have the commercial side, so it really is the full suite,” said Iain.
“We handle the leasing of space for landlords, development consultancy, investment, lease advisory – which is rent reviews and lease renewals – and tenant representation, which is advising tenants when they are looking to take space. There is always an advantage to having an occupier representative. Our job in representing tenants is helping them to save the occupier costs and make sure they get the best terms for them.”
Of course, Cambridge’s burgeoning life science ecosystem will be key to the new office.
“It’s an interesting area of advice,” said Iain. “Laboratories are obviously far more complicated buildings than offices, industrial and retail units.
“From the development consultancy side, it’s about providing our clients with technical knowledge and working as part of a team to make sure everything is considered in terms of the design and that the space will appeal to occupiers and is relevant for them.
“Within life sciences, there are many types of end occupier and processes, so we consider how the space will provide the right flexibility for them.
“It’s also about thinking ahead and making sure it’s relevant for where we’re going in the future. There is the big dynamic of robots and AI – significant influences coming into the market, so we need to think about how we can adapt the space for the future.
“Development consultancy is about understanding the needs of developers and for occupiers it’s about providing a building that will help them attract the talent – and at an affordable price too.”
Amid the high demand for life science space, we are beginning to see an increasing trend in Cambridge of office and retail spaces being repurposed.
But Iain sounded a note of caution.
“There is always a danger with repurposing because if a building wasn’t designed originally for laboratory use, it is highly likely that it will be compromised in some way compared to a purpose-built lab,” he noted. “It may be good now, but is it going to be good in five years when a lot of other lab space is built? An occupier might say it’s a good stop-gap, but will then prefer to move into purpose-built space. It’s a really important point and we are very clear on that with our clients.
“If we advise developers or investors, we make sure we understand where the competition is and where it will be five or seven years down the line because it’s a very expensive process to go through.
“Future-proofing is so important, and that includes securing enough water and power. They are two things that are very tight in East Anglia at the moment and we need to be very conscious of that as we try to build more space.”
Guests at the launch event earlier this month heard from an expert in the field as Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, addressed them.
A Cambridge resident, with a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge, Dr Forsyth previously worked for Unilever, for venture capitalists and headed up Norwich Research Park.
She spoke about the key points for property developers to focus on and how to achieve value while providing the space that will appeal to occupiers.
After exploring the ecosystem, Dr Forsyth offered a fascinating insight into the future by discussing how advances in technology could steer research functions and what the property world can do to accommodate these changes.
“I could write a board paper based on the content of that brilliant speech,” noted one developer.
In addition to the theme of sustainability, Dr Forsyth talked about the growth of data analytics, AI and robotics, explaining how such tools will surely improve research.
But she noted: “We will never do away with the need for people and skilled scientists.”
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