How much did the fund raise?

Initially, we hoped to raise up to £300m but we exceeded our goal and raised £350m. There was very broad investor interest, from financial institutions, pension funds and wealth managers.

Within two months of the IPO, we were able to invest the proceeds into assets across London, Oxford and Cambridge.

We have a portfolio of modern office developments in London’s St Pancras – one of the UK’s most significant life science hubs and close to organisations such as Google, DeepMind and the Francis Crick Institute – and in Harwell Campus, a world leading science and innovation campus outside Oxford. We have also secured 13,000 sq ft of laboratory space in central Cambridge and several premises in Cambourne Business Park – the premiere science park to the west of the city.

What opportunity does the fund offer that was not previously on the market?

You can’t buy a share in a laboratory, so the REIT provides an opportunity for investors to participate in the underlying life sciences sector.

In addition, life science tenants tend to stay longer in their premises because of their particular requirements and characteristics – which means Life Science REIT can offer investors the opportunity of an attractive level of total return, with the potential for net asset value growth as well as a growing yield over time.

What does the permanent capital structure enable the fund to do?

The listed fund has a close-ended structure which offers investors flexibility and liquidity; they can buy and sell shares without affecting the underlying assets in which we have invested.

We hope that we can come back to the market with further opportunities in this exciting sector.