For early-stage startups looking for facilities to support their research, finding the right environment for them to progress their ideas can be challenging, especially with the large upfront costs and long-term commitments required of traditional lab space. If your business is unable to benefit from a university ecosystem, then finding affordable lab space can seem impossible. Particularly in saturated markets like London.

Kadans Science Partner’s London Innovation Centre offers a unique solution: individual workspaces within a shared CoWorking lab or small private labs that can be rented flexibly, providing affordable, adaptable environments for ideas to thrive. Kadans Science Partner (Kadans) recently welcomed new tenant Curiox Biosystems (Curiox) to the Co-Working Lab. But whether you’re an early-stage startup or simply exploring a new thesis, this workspace not only provides space to grow and develop your ideas, but access to shared equipment rooms and a vibrant network of like-minded individuals.

State-of-the-art equipment and shared resources: everything you need in one space

Once set up, one of the challenges for spinouts is access to advanced laboratory equipment. The cost of acquiring and maintaining equipment is often prohibitively high, particularly for early-stage companies, with limited funds. Kadans has prioritised the creation of a shared equipment facility in its proprietary Co-Working Lab, offering Kadans’ customers access to core laboratory equipment. Through partnerships with leading service providers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Stem Cell Technologies, Kadans ensures that Kadans’ customers have access to quality equipment, without incurring extra costs.

The lab space at Kadan’s London Innovation Centre is specifically designed to meet the needs of researchers operating in molecular biology and microbiology, offering access to a fully equipped cell culture room. The state-of-the-art facility has private workspaces, biosafety hoods and CL2 incubators along with dedicated storage space within fridges and freezers. This setup ensures that Kadans’ customers can work alongside each other while keeping their projects separate, enabling them to conduct research safely and efficiently without compromising intellectual property rights and the integrity of each project.

At the bottom of this article, you can find an index of all the equipment available in the shared lab.

Affordability and flexibility: high-quality space without the high cost

Traditional lab space often comes with a steep price tag, long-term leases and significant upfront costs that are simply untenable for early-stage innovators operating on tight budgets.

Being part of the Kadans community within the Shared Lab offers a flexible contract that allows Kadans’ customers to explore their work without the burden of long-term commitments. That flexibility also allows Kadans’ customers to scale or contract their work as their projects evolve. For example, Curiox chose to establish a UK presence at the Co-Working Lab because the company required more space with flexibility to support its expansion. This approach provides the agility that early-stage companies need to adapt to changing circumstances and new opportunities, minimising the logistical challenges and financial investment typically associated with securing lab space and equipment.

The Kadans ecosystem: access to a vibrant network

As Europe’s leading expert in managing and developing successful science-focused real estate and enhancing scientific ecosystems, with a portfolio of 30 campuses and science parks across six countries, Kadans understand that knowledge intensive organisations require more than just workplaces.

Kadans’ customers of the London Innovation Centre not only benefit from the community within the building, but from the entire Kadans ecosystem across the UK and Europe, supporting international collaboration.

“I have everything I need right at my fingertips. Plus, the sense of community here is incredible,” says Emily, a new tenant in the Shared Lab at the London Innovation Centre from NaTurtle. “I’ve met so many people who have offered advice and encouragement, and being surrounding by such inspiring research drives me think outside the box when it comes to my own work.”

Workshops and events within the Innovation Centre enrich the tenant experience, providing learning and development opportunities. ‘Meet and Eat’ run by the Kadans team are designed to foster a collaborative and enriching environment for Kadans’ clients. These sessions not only offer insights from industry experts but also create opportunities to network among fellow scientists, entrepreneurs, and service providers. By facilitating these connections, Kadans fosters a vibrant ecosystem built on knowledge exchange and partnership.

The London Innovation Centre at Canary Wharf: scientists are people too

Kadans’ London Innovation Centre provides an environment that caters to both the technical and commercial needs of startups, helping them advance their scientific research while navigating the challenges of growing a business.

In addition to the fully fitted, flexible wet lab in the Shared Lab, tenants benefit from access to the office accommodation, meeting rooms and breakout spaces throughout the building. More than brick and mortar, which means there are constant opportunities for Kadans’ clients to network with their neighbours and peers in a dynamic environment.

Located in Canary Wharf’s growing life science, health and technology district, the London Innovation Centre provides its Kadans’ clients with access to the scientific community as well as the leading VCs and investment banks to your doorstep, who may provide access to future funding. The location has excellent connectivity with fast train links to central London, London City airport and Heathrow.

For some scientists, their primary experience of working on a science campus has involved working in a lab on an isolated science park in a windowless basement. The London Innovation Centre is the opposite of that. Kadans’ mission is to build innovative ecosystems and often urban environments are the best places to do that – Kadans understands that scientists are people too and access to a stimulating environment outside the lab is just as important as what is within.

Canary Wharf offers just that. As a vibrant mixed-use community offering an extraordinary environment to all those who work, live, and visit – from cafés, bars, restaurants, retail, hotels and accommodation, as well as 16.5 acres of green space for people working and living there to enjoy.

Supporting the science of today for the innovations of tomorrow

Great ideas can come from anywhere, and Kadans’ mission is to provide the resources and support needed to support the people behind those ideas make them into a reality. By providing flexible, affordable and scalable lab space, innovation hubs like Kadans’ London Innovation Centre are helping to overcome many of the barriers facing startups, allowing them to focus on advancing their research as they grow and mature.

Kadans’ London Innovation Centre is about more than just providing lab space; it’s about equipping individuals with the relationships, resources and guidance they need to evolve their ideas, navigate challenges and scale their businesses. To support clients with these challenges, Kadans has a dedicated Lab Manager based at the London Innovation Centre to provide support and technical assistance for startups as they become operational.

“We’ve seen how powerful it is when people from different backgrounds come together,” says Ricky Williams, Laboratory Manager at Kadans Science Partner. “By providing space where people can focus on their work, while also engaging with others, we’re building a hub that we hope will be a catalyst for innovation.”

Shared equipment index

Access to Shared Equipment Room:

  • Autoclave
  • Glass Washer Machine
  • Ice Machine
  • Water Purification Tank
  • 80 Freestanding Freezer
  • LN2 Filling Vessel

Other Notable Shared Equipment:

  • Mini centrifuge x2,
  • Centrifuge x3 (up to 50ml), (Can put bot as one –  Cell Biology Use)
  • Vortex, stirer/heated stirer, (General Use)
  • Thermocylcler, (Molecurlar Biology Use)
  • PCR and qPCR, (Molecurlar Biology Use)
  • Gel Electrophoresis Tank, (Molecurlar Biology Use)
  • Weighing scales, (General Use)
  • Microscope in the open space, and Fluorescent Microscope in the cell culture room
  • Waterbath, (Micro Biology)
  • Co2 incubators, (Cell Biology Use)
  • Brunswick Incubator shakers x2, (Micro Biology)
  • HERAGuard ECO Laminar Air Flow Hood x 2, (General Use)
  • Biosafety cabinets x 2, (Cell Biology Use)
  • Cell counter (Cell Culture Use)
Interested to find out more about Co-Working Lab spaces available to rent in the London Innovation Centre?

Oli Appleyard
T: +44 75 70 65 87 06 E: o.appleyard@kadans.com