Oxford Properties Group (“Oxford”), a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, and Novaxia, a leading French urban investor and developer, have entered into a long-term strategic partnership (the “Partnership”) to invest in and, primarily, develop much needed new supply of life science real estate in France. Novaxia will act as development manager and co-asset manage alongside Oxford with the Partnership targeting approximately EUR1 billion (CUSD1.4 billion) of investment over the next few year.
The fast growth of France’s life sciences sector has accelerated further following the COVID-19 pandemic, and become a key priority for the French government, but there is a critical lack of specialist technical real estate infrastructure to support this growth. The Partnership aims to bring forward new supply of space to help meet that demand and is already in active discussions with local regulators. It will announce its first investments in the near future, which are focused on the development of lab and research centres for biotech and medtech companies.
The first phase of the Partnership’s investment activity will focus on Paris, which is experiencing an acute supply shortage of lab and life sciences incubator space. Paris attracts 80 per cent of all biotech venture capital funding in France, which doubled between 2020 and 2021 to EUR1.6 billion and is expected to underpin growing demand for life sciences space. The Partnership will invest across France and is exploring other emerging markets such as Lyon and Strasbourg.
Both Oxford and Novaxia entered the life sciences asset class in 2017 and have subsequently each built substantial expertise and leadership in the sector. The Partnership accelerates their respective strategies and brings Oxford’s international life sciences platform to the French market, combining with Novaxia’s deep local market expertise.
Joachim Azan, President and founder of Novaxia, said: "Novaxia is opening up to partnerships and breaking new ground by adding another string to its urban recycling bow. Following housing, Novaxia will recycle obsolete buildings into places of innovation in the life sciences. Following on from the project to install one of the largest incubators in Europe at the Hotel-Dieu Paris, Novaxia is developing the means to deploy suitable sites for the entire life sciences value chain throughout France (research laboratories, incubators, accelerators and production plants). Real estate will thus be the starting point for scientific innovation so that France retains its best researchers, its best companies and strengthens its scientific sovereignty.”
Source: Oxfordproperties.com on the 16th of May 2022