Warwick launches £6 million R&D space investment
1 Dec 2025
University of Warwick Science Park (UWSP) is to invest millions in redeveloping one of its key sites in order to meet growing demand for lab space in the midlands.
The Vanguard Centre in the middle of its Venture Centre complex will be transformed into a commercial building housing 13,600 sq ft of lab space, 8,000 sq ft of office space, plus meeting facilities and collaborative communal workspaces.
Contractors Denton have been appointed to lead the project, which it aims to complete in time for a planned opening date in autumn 2026.
UWSP business development manager Emma Turner said firms would benefit from the site’s proximity to and links with “a top ranked university”.
“Availability of lab space within the region is a challenge for many businesses needing to find suitable premises and is at a significant premium due to lack of supply in areas of high demand,” she commented.
UWSP management said the build would have strong environmental credentials with sustainable building methods, electric vehicle charging on site, electric-only M&E systems, and high EPC and BREEAM.
Lack of lab and office accommodation has been a long-running complaint within STEM sectors in the UK.
Another issue has been the traditional dominance of the so-called ‘golden triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, with universities and authorities in the midlands keen to encourage more spin-outs to remain or relocate to the region.
A 2023 Royal Academy of Engineering/Beauchamp report calculated that between them, Warwick and Birmingham universities alone had produced 84 spin-outs in the decade since 2011, with 45 from Warwick.
Created in 1984, UWSP was one of the first science parks to be launched. Now wholly owned by the University of Warwick, it includes four campuses.
In addition to the Venture Centre in Warwick, these include three sites that cover a combined area of more than 100,000 sq ft: Warwick innovation Centre, Coventry Business innovation Centre and Blythe Valley innovation Centre in Coventry.
Other major science parks in the midlands include Birmingham Science Park and the University of Wolverhampton Science Park.
Pic: Rob Carr (Denton head of construction), John Roberts (UWSP head of property,), Emma Turner (UWSP business development manager)
