The London Growth Plan: What it Means for Life Sciences
On 27 February 2025, the Mayor of London published the London Growth Plan. The plan is London’s 10-year ambition for growth and the actions that will be taken to make it happen. It includes sectors and places that London will grow.
Life Sciences as a key Sector
The plan will make London more prosperous, fairer and greener as a global city and capital of the UK. The life sciences sector has been named a key driver of economic growth and innovation in the capital. Driven by R&D and enabled by core technologies including; AI, Quantum, Bioengineering, Robotics and Materials Science with innovation being applied at scale through industrial innovation.
London is already the leading city in Europe for life sciences. We have world-class universities, unmatched talent and an infrastructure primed for R&D.
With an additional 6.2m sq ft of lab and office space dedicated to life sciences set to be built by 2030, its no surprise that the London life sciences sector sees year on year growth.
What Does the Growth Plan say about Life Sciences
Technology
- London loves innovation and technology.
- London is Europe’s leading city for tech, and one of the top three globally.
- Londoners are early adopters of technology.
- London’s universities and research institutes produce discoveries and inventions that change the world.
Frontier Innovation
- We are evolving from a skilled adopter of innovation to a frontier creator of breakthrough technologies.
- The city has exceptional strengths in research, particularly in life sciences, AI, green technology, positioning us for leadership in global innovation.
- London will work with the UK government on invest 2035, its modern industrial strategy, as well as building our own unique strengths.
Places for Growth
- Innovation districts and specialist clusters – walkable districts that bring together research, investors, startups, corporates and hospitals.
- Industrial innovation corridors – London will build new innovation facilities and support existing manufacturers to adopt innovation. This includes the WestTech Corridor, anchored by major West London science and innovation locations such as South Kensington, Paddington Life Sciences, White City Innovation District and Old Oak and Park Royal. The expansion of life sciences hubs will not only boost the economy but also lead to advancements in healthcare, benefiting the wider community and patient outcomes.
- Build advanced manufacturing partnerships with other parts of the UK.
- Restore productivity growth to an average of 2% per year over the next decade, making London’s economy £107 bn larger by 2035.
- Help create over 150,000 jobs by 2028, with a significant portion in the life science’s sector.
Actions
To grow London’s priority sectors the plan outlines the following actions:
- Grow the skilled workforce – see the plan for this in the inclusive talent strategy.
- Promote the sectors to win international investors and customers – see the plan for this in investment and promotion.
- Dramatically increase investment into innovative companies – this is particularly important for the life sciences sector. The plan for this can be found here.
- Support growth sector businesses to scale internationally – see the plan for this in backing our businesses.
- Set a city innovation strategy – use the power of London’s public sector to accelerate innovation through procurement, data and testing. The plan for this can be found here.