The appropriate laboratory size for a growing biotech company depends on the scientific programme, team structure, equipment profile, containment requirements, data workload, support functions and expansion horizon. A biotech lab should be sized from the operating model rather than from headcount alone. Headcount provides a useful benchmark, although the decisive factors are usually wet lab intensity, instrumentation, sample handling, write up space, storage, meeting rooms, office requirements and the company’s next stage of growth.
This is particularly important in Cambridge, where competition for suitable laboratory space remains high. Cambridge University Health Partners describes the local ecosystem as including more than 30 science and technology campuses, more than 600 life science companies and three leading research active NHS Trusts. That concentration creates a demanding environment for biotech, diagnostics, medtech, data science and adjacent tech companies. Occupiers need lab space that can support current scientific work and remain useful as the company moves through funding, validation, recruitment and commercial milestones.
Recent market evidence reinforces the point. Business Weekly reported Savills data showing Cambridge office and laboratory take-up reaching 273,000 sq ft by the end of the first half of 2025, 33 percent above the five-year average. The same report identified Frontier’s 18,000 sq ft acquisition at South Cambridge Science Centre as the largest laboratory letting in Cambridge during that period. For a growing life sciences company, the property decision is therefore both technical and strategic. The right laboratory space can protect scientific momentum. The wrong size can create avoidable cost, relocation risk or operational constraint.
Begin with the science
A growing biotech company should start by defining what the laboratory has to do. A discovery biology business, a therapeutics platform, a diagnostics company, a synthetic biology team, a computational biology group and a contract research function will each use space differently.
The first step is to divide the requirement into operational categories. These normally include primary lab space, laboratory support space, write up and office areas, meeting rooms, storage, equipment rooms and shared circulation. Primary lab space covers benching, wet lab work, biosafety cabinets, fume hoods, analytical work, sample preparation and direct experimental activity. Support space may include freezers, cold rooms, incubators, autoclaves, glasswash, waste areas, chemical stores, gas storage, liquid nitrogen, clean utilities and specialist equipment zones.
The balance between these categories changes as a company grows. An early discovery team may need a high proportion of bench space and shared equipment access. A company moving toward validation may require more documentation areas, data analysis, controlled project rooms, quality processes and meeting space. A business preparing for partnerships, customer engagement or regulatory work may need stronger separation between laboratory, write up, visitor and office areas.
Use space benchmarks as a starting point
Benchmarks provide a useful initial range. University Lab Partners cites a benchmark for biotechnology labs of approximately 200 to 400 sq ft per person. PHTA’s guidance for life sciences start ups gives another useful planning point: 15 square metres per person in the lab and 8 square metres per person in office accommodation. That is approximately 161 sq ft of lab space and 86 sq ft of office space per person before the full allowance for shared support areas is considered.
On that basis, a 20 person biotech company may require a broad planning range of 4,000 to 8,000 sq ft depending on wet lab intensity, equipment and support functions. A 40 person company may require 8,000 to 16,000 sq ft or more. A 75 person company can readily require 20,000 to 35,000 sq ft once dedicated wet lab areas, write up space, storage, equipment rooms, office accommodation, meeting rooms and growth capacity are included.
These figures are only starting points. A computational biology company with limited wet lab use may need less space per person. A wet lab intensive biotech lab with fume hoods, tissue culture, multiple instruments, cold storage and controlled workflows may need more. The correct figure comes from a detailed accommodation schedule.
Size the laboratory around equipment and workflow
Equipment is often the factor that turns a simple headcount calculation into an inadequate estimate. Freezers, incubators, centrifuges, analytical instruments, liquid handling systems, microscopy, cell culture, biosafety cabinets, fume hoods and cold storage all require space, servicing and circulation. Equipment also affects power, cooling, floor loading, data, maintenance access and safety procedures.
Workflow also drives size. Samples, reagents, waste, staff, visitors and deliveries should move through the facility in a controlled and efficient way. A company handling biological samples may need clearer separation between preparation, processing, storage, analysis and disposal. A diagnostics or regulated development business may need more documentation and quality space. A company with customer or investor visits may need meeting rooms close to reception, without disrupting laboratory operations.
Ventilation and extract requirements require particular care. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on local exhaust ventilation covers good design practice for hoods, ducts, air movers, air cleaners, system documentation, checking and maintenance. This matters for any occupier planning fume hoods or other extraction systems. The availability of extract routes, risers, plant capacity and maintenance access can materially affect both the suitable size and the suitable building.
Match size to funding and growth stage
Laboratory size should reflect the next operational stage, not only the current one. A seed stage company may need a smaller dedicated suite or incubator style wet lab, with access to shared equipment and a flexible commitment. A Series A company may need dedicated laboratory space, a defined office base, write up areas, better storage and a more professional meeting environment. A later stage biotech company may need larger laboratory and office accommodation, dedicated support rooms, specialist instrumentation, technical resilience and expansion rights.
A common mistake is sizing for the current team and ignoring the next milestone. Scientific teams can grow quickly after funding, technical validation or a commercial partnership. A company that takes too little space may face disruption just as its programme accelerates. A company that takes too much space too early can weaken capital efficiency. The better approach is to lease for the known requirement plus a realistic growth allowance, while securing credible options for expansion.
For many growing companies, that means searching for laboratory space that can support at least the next 24 to 36 months. The exact period depends on lease structure, funding runway, recruitment plan and technical programme. The central question is whether the laboratory can support the business through its next value inflection point.
Assess the building before finalising the size
The same square footage can perform very differently in different buildings. A purpose built laboratory building can make space more efficient because the core infrastructure has been planned for technical use. A poorly suited building may require more area, more fit out, more compromise and more time to achieve the same operational outcome.
The practical assessment should cover ventilation, extract routes, drainage, gases, power, cooling, risers, plant, loading, goods access, waste handling, digital connectivity, floor performance, acoustic separation, access control and resilience. The company should also assess the balance between lab and office areas, the quality of write up space, the number and location of meeting rooms and the ability to alter the layout as the business develops.
South Cambridge Science Centre is relevant to this issue because it offers substantial laboratory and office accommodation in the south Cambridge market. Bidwells lists South Cambridge Science Centre in Sawston as offering 20,000 to 138,252 sq ft. That scale is significant for growing biotech and life science occupiers because it allows laboratory, office, write up, meeting and support functions to be considered together, with expansion potential within a science and technology setting.
Practical sizing ranges
For planning purposes, a small biotech company of 10 to 20 people may require 2,500 to 8,000 sq ft depending on equipment intensity, wet lab use and support needs. A scaling team of 20 to 50 people may require 8,000 to 20,000 sq ft, particularly where dedicated wet lab space, write up areas, freezers, fume hoods, meeting rooms and office accommodation are required. A more established company of 50 to 100 people may require 20,000 to 50,000 sq ft or more if it needs multiple research groups, specialist equipment rooms, storage, quality systems, visitor areas and future expansion capacity.
These ranges should be tested through a room by room schedule. The schedule should identify benching, wet lab areas, dry lab areas, write up space, offices, meeting rooms, equipment rooms, storage, cold chain, waste, goods movement, reception, changing areas and circulation. It should also include a growth scenario, showing what happens when headcount increases, new equipment arrives or a new research programme begins.
The right size supports execution
The right laboratory size allows a biotech company to operate safely, recruit effectively, protect scientific momentum and progress through its next stage of growth. It gives the team enough lab space to carry out the work, enough write up and office space to manage data and documentation, enough meeting space to support decision-making and enough support space to avoid operational congestion.
For companies searching for biotech lab space or laboratory space in Cambridge, the most effective process begins with the science, converts the scientific programme into an accommodation schedule and then tests that schedule against buildings with appropriate specification and expansion capacity. South Cambridge Science Centre belongs in that search because it offers meaningful scale within the Cambridge science and technology market.
A growing biotech company should therefore treat laboratory size as an execution decision. The square footage matters, but the performance of that square footage matters more. The strongest solution is a laboratory and office environment that supports the company’s present work, its next funding or validation milestone and its long term growth path.
