190,000 sq ft of bioscience space planned for The Island Quarter

The developer behind the Island Quarter regeneration scheme in Nottingham has revealed plans to create 190,000 sq ft of bioscience space at the site – but has warned it needs to raise “substantial” amounts of cash in order to “significantly progress” the scheme.

In a statement this morning (22 November), Conygar said it was currently finalising a detailed planning application for the new addition and revealed it had begun discussions with potential funding partners.

The developer’s plans for the bioscience space – which appear to be limited to a single building – include laboratory and office space, conference facilities and car parking provision.

The facility would be located “adjacent to an existing bioscience hub” – presumably BioCity.

However, despite being debt free, the firm said geopolitical instability and the ongoing economic crisis had impacted its ability to raise finance for projects in the short term.

It currently has cash deposits of £17.4m on its balance sheet.

Conygar CEO Robert Ware said: “The repercussions from the ongoing macroeconomic and geo-political uncertainty will inevitably have a significant impact on the Group’s ability to raise finance for, and realise value from, its real estate portfolio in the near term.

“Furthermore, sustained inflation, as a result of the combined effects from commodity and supply chain shortages, liberal government spending and tight labour markets, compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has inevitably resulted in an acceleration of the Bank of England’s monetary policy tightening and subsequent expansion of commercial property yields.

“Whilst we cannot isolate ourselves from the consequences of this market uncertainty, we will continue to cautiously move our development programme forward with a particular focus on the targeted and efficient use of the Group’s existing and anticipated cash deposits. This will include the further advancement of the detailed designs and planning submissions for The Island Quarter, in order that the Group is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities as and when our cash flows and market sentiment allows.”