First life science tenant announced for Scale Space new wing in White City innovation district

CTLS supplies the life science community with human biologicals collected via its own IRB-approved donor centre currently located in Park Royal, London. That business will move to Scale Space with a team of 13 CTLS experts running the donation service and undertaking lab and office-based work.

Kelly Sapsford, CTLS General Manager said: “Companies like ours thrive when they’re at the heart of a vibrant life science and innovation community, and this is what Scale Space provides. It will enable us to connect directly into the thinking and teaching at Imperial College as well as life science businesses already on site and in Imperial’s Translation and Innovation Hub (I-HUB).

“Currently, we collect blood and biofluid donations from approximately 2,000 individuals per year and our work directly supports nearly 30,000 researchers globally. We’re excited about the potential Scale Space gives us to expand our service and the support we can provide to life science research in the UK and across Europe.”

Mark Sanders, Executive Chairman, Scale Space said: “CTLS and BioIVT play important roles in supporting research across the life sciences community, and we are delighted to welcome them as our first life science tenant in Phase B. CTLS’ business and use of the space reflect the approach we’ve taken in Scale Space to create a workplace that is adaptable and cost-effective for offices and wet labs alike.”

Scale Space White City was created by Blenheim Chalcot, the UK’s leading digital venture builder, with Imperial College London as a community for scaling businesses to help them grow stronger and faster. Scale Space brings together Blenheim Chalcot’s venture building expertise with Imperial’s thought-leadership to help these companies develop by connecting them with the right people, services, and space. The agents involved were JLL and Frost Meadowcroft for Scale Space and The Workplace Company for CTLS.

The first phase of Scale Space opened in July 2020 with 100,000 sq ft available and is now home to more than 20 businesses and over 1,000 workers. Scale Space’s second phase is a 60,000 sq ft flexible space for labs and offices. The building is designed to facilitate the cost-effective fit out of both offices and wet labs. Typical lab requirements, such as additional power and ventilation, are enabled through the building’s specification.

Consent has also been granted for an additional 40,000 sq ft of flexible laboratory and office space to be built on Imperial College London’s White Campus at Scale Space. Construction is due to start in 2021, and target completion is April 2022. When complete, Scale Space will have created 200,000 sq ft of flexible space to help the UK’s lifesciences sector grow – a joint venture between Imperial College London and Blenheim Chalcot.

Current members include:

DNAewhich is developing a platform that performs DNA sequencing on a microchip, to provide rapid, actionable information to clinicians. DNAe is also a spinout from Imperial College London.

Second Naturewhich has raised £10m of series A funding for its digital behavioural change programme for weight loss.

About Scale Space 

Scale Space created by Blenheim Chalcot, the UK’s leading digital venture builder is an entirely new concept that brings Blenheim Chalcot’s expertise together with world leading universities to create a new community for scale-ups to help them grow faster and stronger. Blenheim Chalcot has partnered with Imperial College London to launch Scale Space’s first physical site on the White City Innovation District, London.

Scale Space is a growth community, connecting businesses together for mutual benefit, knowledge sharing and to help them draw on the specific skills and expertise within Blenheim Chalcot and its university partners. This is delivered via a structured range of services accessed within the building or online.

Scale Space’s first phase opened in July 2020 and is fully let to more than 20 businesses and over a 1,000 staff, excluding Imperial College London’s staff and students. Example companies already in Scale Space include:

• Agilisys –leading provider of cloud, IT, and digital transformation services in the UK, as well as the technology partner for the States of Guernsey.
• Avado– A professional academy helping companies enable real change through interactive learning experiences.
• DNAe– the first true point-of-need sequencing company revolutionising clinical diagnostic tools.
• Koodoo– The digital platform transforming the mortgage industry.
• Modulr has recently raised a total of £63m, including a recent £9m investment from PayPal Ventures. Modulr enables digital businesses and software platforms across lending, banking, fintech, travel, employment services and accounting to easily embed and build new payment products and services within their customer journey.
• Second Nature has raised a fresh $10 million in Series A funding. The company provides an easy to follow programme used by the NHS and public for long term behavioural change and sustainable weight loss.
• Salary Finance – Socially responsible employee finance.

Scale Space services available for tenants include:

• Expert Know-How:  Blenheim Chalcot believes business scaling is a science. Scale Space will help its members speed their development by helping them draw on the knowledge and growth processes followed by other successful scaling businesses within Blenheim Chalcot and beyond as well as research from The Scale Up Institute, Imperial College London and other experts.
• The Growth Network:  Scale Space helps its members connect into its network of venture builders, academics, researchers, tech leaders and scale up leaders. Regular Scale Space member get togethers help to build a collegiate environment of peer-to-peer support.
• Scale-up services:  Scale Space provides its members with access to specialist services and expertise. These include talent clinics to help businesses draw on talent from across Scale Space’s university network and talent partners. Other services include student placements to specific consultancy advice from growth specialists across HR, legal, tax and governance, through to specific projects delivered for companies by Imperial College London’s entrepreneurial student network, including MBA students.
• Space tailored for growth: Companies can adapt their space as they wish and change it as they grow. Space ranges from fully fitted offices to research labs or office suites – and across a range of models from long-term traditional leases to flexible managed services.

About CTLS

CTLS is a leading provider of human blood products and biological specimens to the research community. CTLS specializes in the collection of whole blood, serum, immune cells, red cells, and other biofluids from consented donors. Donors are screened according to AABB guidelines and undergo a complete battery of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required infectious disease state tests. For 25 years, specimens collected at the CTLS donor centre in London have supported the development of therapeutics and in vitro diagnostic assays. For further information visit www.clintrialslab.com or www.facebook.com/blood4research