The five-storey state-of-the-art facility will house a number of leading life science companies such as Sygnature Discovery, currently based in the Laurus building at BioCity, which will take up 30,000sq ft of the 50,000 sq ft space in the new building. This will free up space in the existing building for more developing companies to make use of the incubator facilities.

Procured by Nottingham City Council under the Scape Major Works framework, Willmott Dixon will work with the architect CPMG of Nottingham to deliver the facility by spring 2017. It is expected to act as a catalyst to bring more life science employers to Nottingham and create 250 specialist bioscience jobs.

The new building features a design that includes a sunscreen created by local artist Wolfgang Buttress and, utilising Willmott Dixon’s industry leading sustainability track-record, it will be connected to the district heating system and so energy needs will be provided from burning the city’s waste.

The site was bought, cleared and decontaminated by Nottingham City Council for the state-of-the-art life science incubator to be developed. The facility will be fitted with high-tech biology and chemistry laboratories which will be built in a range of sizes to allow companies to expand, with ancillary space for commercial leasing to both start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Nick Heath, operations director at Willmott Dixon in the East Midlands:

“This is an exciting project for Willmott Dixon and we are extremely pleased to be involved in such an iconic development which will raise the benchmark for future development in the city. The new building will help support start up and existing small and medium sized enterprises within the sector – making it a fantastic hub for the ever-growing life science business in the Midlands. We are looking forward to making a start on this project and further strengthening our portfolio of life science projects – which is steadily increasing alongside demand in the region.”

Councillor Jon Collins, Leader for Nottingham City Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Regeneration, said: “This is a significant development because not only will it cement our position as the UK’s fastest growing life science community, bringing new investment and job opportunities in one of our key growth sectors, but it will also help to regenerate the east side of the city and bring job opportunities during its construction.”