Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson recently advised Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) on the multi-million pound purchase of a key life science building in the city’s health campus. The deal completed on 29 November 2022.
The high-spec Accelerator building will add significant capacity to LSTM’s existing research capability as well as offering lettable space to inventors, enterprises and entrepreneurs engaged in research and development activity in the fields of medical and life sciences.
The building, which was originally constructed in 2017 for the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust in partnership with LSTM at a cost of £25 million, will now be wholly owned by LSTM.
Hill Dickinson partner Kevin Lee led on the provision of legal advice, backed by a team including senior associate Rachael Allen (Real Estate), associate Bethany Clegg (Real Estate), legal director Helen Penfold (Banking) and Construction partner David Oram.
Commenting on the deal, Kevin Lee said: “Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is a real jewel in Liverpool’s crown. As longstanding lawyers to LSTM, we were delighted to bring together a specialist multi-disciplinary team spanning real estate, banking and construction to advise on a deal that not only extends LSTM’s world class research capability but promises to create real impact in our city and for the future of human healthcare.”
The Accelerator stands directly alongside the city’s new £335 million Royal Liverpool Hospital and the £162 million Clatterbridge Centre for Cancer as part of a rapidly expanding Clinical Campus. The building has approximately 30,000 square feet of lettable space and is fitted with state-of-the-art laboratories including Category 3 labs, insectaries, offices, collaboration zones and meeting rooms.
LSTM has been awarded £4.7 million in funding from the Research England Development (RED) Fund to support the setting up a Human Challenge Facility (HCF) at its newly purchased Accelerator Building. This complements an award of £2 million to the HCF from The Pandemic Institute, a unique collaboration in Liverpool between academic, civic and health service partners.
