GROWTH OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES MARKET LEADS TO EXCITING ACQUISITION FOR WORKPLACE STRATEGY, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FIRM

GROWTH OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES MARKET LEADS TO EXCITING ACQUISITION FOR WORKPLACE STRATEGY, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FIRM

(London 11^th January) — Global workplace strategy, design and construction firm Unispace has announced its acquisition of BioPharma Engineering (BPE), an Ireland-based firm that designs and delivers laboratory, research and manufacturing facility space for the life sciences industry. BPE’s portfolio of clients includes the top 10 global pharmaceutical and life sciences companies.

This move comes at a time when investment in the UK’s pharmaceutical and life sciences sector continues to grow, with the life sciences industry alone reporting nearly half a billion of new investment, supporting 420 jobs and bringing the total investment to over £5 billion since July 2021.

Welcoming the news, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said, “Cork is already home to 9 of the 10 of the world’s top Life Sciences companies, and the new Unispace Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences further solidifies the region as a globally renowned talent and competency hotspot for the pharma and medtech industries. This partnership between an Irish design engineering firm and a global workspace giant exemplifies the talent and expertise as well as ambition that epitomises Irish businesses. I wish BPE, a Unispace Life Science company, continued success in the future.”

“Partnering with BPE is a natural move for us. It will allow us to build on the work we have delivered to date for life science clients. Companies in this sector are challenged with expanding their footprint rapidly to meet skyrocketing demand,” said Steve Quick, CEO of Unispace.

“Adding BPE’s capabilities allows us to meet this moment for our many global clients in this industry, bolstering our unified team model created to design and deliver spaces that support people, innovation and business growth under today’s necessary yet radically compressed timeframes,” Quick added.

Unispace has a strong track record of designing and delivering office space for the life sciences industry. Current clients include Boston Scientific, Abbott and Merck. The acquisition of BPE, which will become BPE, A Unispace Life Sciences Company, gives Unispace additional technical capabilities to lead additional project types including laboratory, research and manufacturing facilities. The acquisition will also support the firm’s expansion in this sector globally, including key markets in Europe, Asia and North America.

BPE’s employees will join Unispace’s global team, led by BPE Managing Director John O’Reilly, who has also been appointed Unispace’s Global Managing Director for Life Sciences. O’Reilly will continue to be based in Cork, Ireland, and the location will become Unispace’s centre of excellence for its life sciences specialization.

“The integration of our team and Unispace’s global platform gives us a greater depth and breadth of resources to rise to enhance our exemplary customer service to our global clients,” said John O’Reilly. “Just as our clients focus on speed-to-market in the development of pharmaceuticals, our team is taking the same approach on the facility design and construction side to support life sciences companies’ expansion and growth goals.”

“Our growth strategy is predicated on serving our global clients everywhere they need us,” said Quick. “For life sciences companies, that means offering strategy, design and delivery capabilities in all markets and across all facility types integral to the research and development of pharmaceuticals. With BPE by our side in this endeavour, we can’t ask for a better partner to propel our growth.”

Blitzer, Clancy & Company advised Unispace in the acquisition