Spotlight on Stevenage
Home to Europe’s largest cluster of Cell and Gene Therapy companies, the CGT Catapult, GSK, Bioscience Catalyst and an ecosystem of global Life Science, Aerospace & Technology companies
Prime accessible location at the centre of the ‘Golden Triangle’. Accessible location and infrastructure London, Kings Cross (23 minutes), London, Kings College (33 minutes) and 4 international airports within 1 hour.
Affordable housing, good quality of life and local amenities.
New build quality, affordable and high specification R&D laboratories, HQ and GMP advanced manufacturing accommodation.
Bespoke design and build fast track laboratory and advanced manufacturing solutions delivery in half the time of traditional build.
Established Life Science, technology and aerospace cluster.
Existing ecosystem offering affordable talent and skills and supply chain infrastructure.
The Forge Knowledge District
The Assembly
Stevenage Town Centre
532,000 sq ft of GMP facilities
Phase 1 – Autolus
A new purpose-built 82,000 sqft Headquarters and GMP advanced manufacturing facility for Autolus Plc.
This state-of-the-art life sciences facility serves the USA, UK and European markets, and is equipped with cutting-edge technology and equipment to support the company's innovative research and development in the field of cell and gene therapies.
Phase 2 - Planning Consent Secured
Spanning 450,000 sq ft, four new laboratory buildings have been designed to provide cutting-edge GMP advanced manufacturing capabilities. These purpose-built lab facilities will also include collaboration and skills building, providing an environment that fosters innovation, collaboration and skill development for the life sciences industry.
Elevate Quarter
Planning obtained for an additional
1.4 million sq ft of R&D and GMP facilities
Existing Ecosystem
Anchored by GSK’s global R&D headquarters employing 7,000 people and extending to 600,000 sq ft of Life Science space alongside the UK’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Kadans, the Assembly development and an existing cluster of multinational corporates we are expanding the Knowledge District into a globally renowned centre for research and development, innovation and advanced manufacturing.
Phase 1
260,000 sq ft of purpose-built, flexible lab and office space on site Q1 2024 with practical completion Q4 2024.
Phase 1-Autolus
Breaking ground in November 2021, the project was completed by April 2025, with the first clean room operational at
the end of 2022.
76.5% of the development was manufactured off-site.
Zero natural gas.
Transportation to on-site is greatly reduced, as fewer vehicles are required as the building materials have already been built off-site.
Off-site construction is an effective method of reducing waste
materials, especially as the required building materials can be
more accurately calculated off-site.On-site renewables using PV solar panels.
EPC A rated.
BREEAM Excellent.
Delivered by Reef Origins’ (joint owner of Forge_Kn)
in-house design and development team.
The development delivered the UK’s 1st CAR-T Cell Manufacturing facility, achieving phase 1 completion and Grade C clean rooms handover in 17 months from the start of design, including planning. Reef delivered this through a volumetric build solution, resulting in a 50% programme saving when compared to a traditional approach – a key reason for Autolus’s commitment.
This has enabled Autolus Therapeutics to generate over 2000 therapies per year of life-changing next-generation leukaemia treatment, and the completed project has generated an additional 400 jobs for Stevenage.
14 in operation, apprenticeships, investing in local talent and economic growth.
Enables Autolus to generate over 2,000 therapies per year of life-changing, next-generation leukaemia treatment.
An additional 400 jobs for Stevenage.
Off-site manufacture and fast installation mean that fewer builders are displaced geographically and forced to be away
from families.
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
As part of SBC’s commitment to supporting early-stage start-ups, the Lab Hotel provides four organisations with rent-free space for six months
Collectively, these firms have raised £2.3bn in grants, equity, public offerings and acquisitions.
Since opening in 2012, SBC has hosted a total of 47 organisations with occupational leases and a further 24 with virtual leases.
Since opening, 87% of the occupiers have continued to prosper. This compares very favourably to the national figure of 65-70% for the survival rate of start-ups after the first three years of trading.
This vibrant ecosystem is based on bringing together a range of organisations throughout the innovation pipeline from start-ups to major multinationals, allowing companies to develop and commercialise cutting edge therapeutics.
”The presence of accessible manufacturing capabilities further strengthens the appeal of
even the most established R&D ecosystems”
CBRE HEAD OF LIFE SCIENCES
Stevenage success has been driven by the long established skilled workforce including graduates, post graduates, apprenticeships and training facilities all of which is attractive to incoming employers and investors.
Some examples of the Autolus team share their experiences of this in the videos to the left.
Further information regarding the skills and job opportunities can be found here.
Skills and talent
Meet some of the talented team members and hear about their journey to reach Autolus and Catapult
Sustainability is at the core of all Forge developments. The projects in Stevenage are no different, circular economy principles are being applied to all elements of design, construction & operation. The schemes have been designed for adaptability, flexibility, longevity & deconstruction utilising responsibly and sustainably sourced materials and recycled materials where possible.
Masterplans have been carefully designed to promote active lifestyles with attractive nature-led landscaping and a focus on increasing biodiversity. Enhanced public realm and amenity provision, including running routes, cafes and functional facilities, aim to improve the interaction of tenants and public with the cluster.
Working with local stakeholders the schemes will promote low-carbon sustainable transport encouraging access to facilities by foot, bicycle and bus, building upon Stevenage’s impressive existing network.
Sustainability
CURRENTLY IN STEVENAGE
Ongoing benefits to the local economy
*Figures based on Assembly alone not the campus.
New jobs within the cluster. 44% total growth to 2031.
1,850
Added to local economy every year by new workforce.
£98M
Generated through worker expenditure in the local area
£4.7M
Additional tax revenue each year through economic activity.
£30M
Expenditure in local construction sector.