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Biotechs eye BIC move

Written by Lautaro Vargas

Thursday, 02 October 2008

Turnstone Estates is in discussions with a number of biotech companies which are considering a move into Cambridge’s Bioscience Innovation Centre following the acquisition of the Centre’s management firm from Medical Marketing International (MMI). Cancer drug specialist, MMI, decided to divest its Bioscience Innovation Centre Ltd (BIC) subsidiary to Essex-based Turnstone, which had acquired the building in December 2006 for £5.3m before leasing it to BIC. Turnstone has now paid MMI a cash consideration of £1 to bring the leasehold at the Bioscience Innovation Centre back into its own hands and intends to fill floors one and two which have gone unoccupied under the previous regime. The company’s first let is 7,400 sq ft on the ground floor to MMI under a new lease agreement for a minimum of five years, and Turnstone managing director, Chris Goldsmith, says the company is in discussions with other companies that may take the space. Under the new arrangement, MMI has agreed to pay BIC – under its new ownership – a fee of £100,000 on completion and £100,000 by 30 June 2009. MMI estimates that the new lease arrangements will provide £250,000 annual cost savings. The Bioscience Innovation Centre is a 20,000 sq ft bioscience office and incubator facility located on a 1.52 acre site on the St John’s Innovation Park, which also includes the LabHotel® service offering. BIC currently leases the Centre from Turnstone under a non-cancellable operating lease agreement that expires in 2024.

 

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