The UK continues to receive the largest amount of venture capital (VC) funding into life science in Europe, at €4.06 billion in 2021 with France, Switzerland and Germany following. However, a number of continental European countries have seen significant growth in this sector over the last five years. In fact, the Netherlands (at 43.43 per cent), Belgium (42.51 per cent), Denmark (56.62 per cent) and Finland (42.66 per cent) all achieved a higher Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) than the UK for the period 2017-2021, albeit off a lower base.

In 2021 alone, those countries saw €706 million, €638 million, €489 million and €136 million VC invested in domestic life science organisations, respectively. Among the most notable deals in the Netherlands are metabolic disease specialist NorthSea Therapeutics NV who raised US$80 million; and NewAmsterdam Pharma, a clinical stage company focused on the research and development of transformative therapies for cardio-metabolic diseases, who raised €162 million, both in 2021.

What this shows is that the VC-driven life science sector is growing rapidly in continental Europe and, if the UK example gives us a glimpse into the future, having grown from €985 million in 2017 to €4.06 billion in 2021, there is still significant growth for these countries – and others in Europe – to come over the next few years. 

So what does this mean for real estate? Our analysis shows that every €1 billion of venture capital money invested into life science generates 46,000 sq m of new occupier demand. Given that the Netherlands and Belgium are just on the cusp of reaching this figure, we can expect to see new occupier requirements emerge in the Benelux in the near term. Traditionally, VC investment tends to create new occupier demand between 12 and 18 months post-funding. This is generally the time a company will look for space for the next phase of their development. In anticipation of this growing occupier demand, we expect to see increased activity from real estate investors targeting life science acquisitions, development or repositioning opportunities in these key hotspots.

Further information 

Contact George Coleman and Mike Barnes

Savills Regional Investment Advisory