The Barts Life Sciences Cluster Launches in Whitechapel, East London

With planned investment of over £800m, the Cluster brings together Barts Health NHS Trust and private investors to unite clinical excellence and commercial innovation.

Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “We have ambitious goals for making the UK Europe’s leader when it comes to life sciences’ sector-led investment in R&D, access to scale-up finance, and pulling in foreign direct investment. This new Cluster will make a valuable contribution to those efforts.”

London, UK – [14 November 2025] – The Barts Life Sciences Cluster, a landmark partnership designed to transform healthcare and deliver inclusive economic growth, has officially launched in Whitechapel, East London.

The initiative brings together Barts Health NHS Trust and private investors BGO, H.I.G. Capital and Lateral in a first-of-its-kind collaboration. The c. 25-acre Cluster aims to unite clinical excellence and commercial innovation, supported by various academic linkages, to deliver improved patient outcomes and economic opportunity.

The Cluster will provide the Life Sciences industry with unparalleled access to existing clinical and research infrastructure, a diverse patient population, world-class clinical expertise, a large scale proprietary clinical database and real-world testing environments. This unique adjacency will enable innovators in MedTech, AI, digital health and therapeutics to move rapidly from research and development to prototype and practice.

Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

“When our £150 billion life sciences sector succeeds, the whole nation’s health and wealth are better for it. That’s why this sector is central to our modern Industrial Strategy, and plans to unlock economic growth across the UK.

Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we have ambitious goals for making the UK Europe’s leader when it comes to life sciences’ sector-led investment in R&D, access to scale-up finance, and pulling in foreign direct investment. This new Cluster will make a valuable contribution to those efforts, as well as underlining Whitechapel as a key destination for business and innovation.”

The Cluster aims to create a truly clinical-led environment for innovation, centred around The Royal London Hospital, a nationally leading site for trauma and clinical trials, alongside the capability to incorporate the wider strengths of Barts Health, such as Europe’s largest heart centre at St Bartholomew’s hospital. Proximity to frontline clinicians enables collaboration throughout the product lifecycle — from early development to real-world demonstration and deployment.

The Cluster is supported by several academic partners, including the adjacent Queen Mary University of London, a leading Russell Group institution, who are ranked 14^th globally for research quality and in the top 5 in the world for medical citations.  They already boast several research centres of excellence in cancer, genomics, cardiovascular, inflammation and precision healthcare.

This unique setting allows start-ups and global corporates alike to co-develop next-generation technologies, from AI-driven solutions to novel medical hardware, alongside one of the UK’s largest and leading teaching hospitals. By building innovation into the fabric of clinical workflows, the Cluster ensures new technologies are designed to integrate seamlessly into care delivery, helping to smooth the path to adoption and maximise patient impact.

Shane DeGaris, Group CEO of Barts Health NHS Trust, commented:

“At Barts Health we see first-hand the challenges and opportunities in delivering healthcare at scale. The Barts Life Sciences Cluster allows us to bring together our clinicians, patients, industry, and academic partners in new ways — accelerating innovation, creating jobs for East London, and above all improving outcomes for the communities we serve. This is a landmark moment for Barts and for UK life sciences.”

This approach is already bearing fruit. Barts Health has partnered with the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), the UK’s leading health technology trade body, to create new pathways for medtech innovators to work hand-in-hand with clinicians at Barts Health. This will help patients benefit sooner from cutting-edge technologies, while giving industry real-world insight into adoption and impact.

The private-sector Cluster Partners are set to invest over £800m to deliver new development within the Cluster, comprising commercial workspace, affordable workspace, key worker and affordable housing, alongside extensive community facilities.

Anchored by approximately 1 million sq ft of new, best-in-class space, this initiative will establish London’s most dynamic health innovation district, purpose-designed for MedTech, AI, digital health and therapeutics. It will set a new standard for future-ready lab and innovation environments, creating a magnet for talent, capital and high-growth occupiers.

Once operational, this 25-acre district will comprise 5 million sq ft of innovation, workspace, academic and clinical facilities, supporting thousands of new jobs and generating more than £0.75bn in GVA. Adjacent to the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall and beside Whitechapel station, it will become one of London’s most connected and compelling destinations for the life sciences sector.

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About the Barts Life Sciences Cluster

The Barts Life Sciences Cluster is a pioneering collaboration between Barts Health NHS Trust, BGO, H.I.G. Capital and Lateral.

Located in Whitechapel, East London, the District will boast 5 million sq ft of clinical, research, innovation and commercial space to create a world-class ecosystem for MedTech, AI, digital health and therapeutics.

The c. 25 acre site contains The Royal London Hospital providing world-class clinical expertise and a diverse patient population, adjacent to the research-intensive Queen Mary University of London. The Cluster mission is to accelerate the development and adoption of innovation, drive inclusive economic growth, and improve outcomes for patients in East London and beyond.

About Barts Health NHS Trust

With a turnover of £2.2billion and a workforce of almost 21,000, Barts Health is a leading healthcare provider in Britain and one of the largest NHS trusts in the country. The Trust’s five hospitals – St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, Newham Hospital in Plaistow, Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone and Mile End Hospital – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of east London and beyond, including delivering over 14,000 babies every year and treating more than 7,000 patients daily.

For more information see www.barts.health.nhs.uk

About BGO

BGO is a leading, global real estate investment management advisor and a globally recognised provider of real estate services. BGO serves the interests of more than 750 institutional clients with approximately $89 billion USD of assets under management (as of September 30, 2025) and expertise in the asset management of office, industrial, multi-residential, retail and hospitality property across the globe. BGO has offices in 25 cities across twelve countries with deep, local knowledge, experience, and extensive networks in the regions where we invest in and manage real estate assets on behalf of our clients in primary, secondary and co-investment markets. BGO is a part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life.

The assets under management shown above includes real estate equity and mortgage investments managed by the BGO group of companies and their affiliates, and as of 1Q21, includes certain uncalled capital commitments for discretionary capital until they are legally expired and excludes certain uncalled capital commitments where the investor has complete discretion over investment.

For more information, please visit www.bgo.com

About H.I.G Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management, with a focus on the mid cap segment of the market. For over 30 years, the H.I.G. platform has created long-term value across a range of strategies including private equity, growth equity, direct lending, special situations credit, real estate, infrastructure, and growth-stage healthcare.  With a team of more than 500 investment professionals in 19 offices worldwide, H.I.G. partners with businesses and assets where it can drive operational improvement, transformation, and long-term value creation. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion.

For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.

About Lateral

Lateral is a real estate development and investment company specialising in the science, technology, and living sectors. The company delivers large-scale regeneration and innovation-led projects that integrate research and development infrastructure with high-quality living environments. Working in partnership with both the public and private sectors, Lateral applies an ecosystem-led approach to create places that enable collaboration, accelerate innovation, and deliver lasting economic and social value.  Its portfolio includes major schemes such as the Barts Life Sciences Cluster in Whitechapel, Camley Street in King’s Cross, and Radio House in Cambridge — each setting new benchmarks for inclusive and sustainable urban regeneration.

For more information, please visit www.lateral.london

The Barts Life Sciences Cluster

Credit: Lateral

Credit: Lateral

Credit: BGO/PLP

Credit BGO/PLP