Leasing activity across the ‘golden triangle’ markets of London, Oxford and Cambridge totalled 151,182 sq ft in Q2, led by a surge in uptake in the capital, according to Knight Frank.
Humanoid’s deal at One Triton Square was London’s largest during Q2. Credit: SKL Robotics
London recorded 73,027 sq ft of lettings in Q2, more than triple Knight Frank’s figure for Q1, accounting for almost half of the golden triangle take-up during Q2.
Knight Frank said the figures pointed to continued demand rotating between the three core markets.
The strong Q2 figure follows record leasing in Cambridge in Q1. In total, Cambridge and Oxford recorded 290,834 sq ft of lettings across 18 deals during H1, representing 75.4% of golden triangle activity.
The quarter’s largest London transaction saw robotics company Humanoid take 40,000 sq ft of lab-enabled space at 1 Triton Square.
AI take-up is recorded separately to science and innovation, but Knight Frank said London’s strong performance was part of a broader expansion in science and technology demand. The agency tracked 751,162 sq ft of AI-related take-up in the capital during H1, up from 197,258 sq ft in the same period in 2025.
Knight Frank also reported a significant strengthening in the sector’s funding as UK life sciences venture capital investment reached a record £3.06bn across 231 deals in H1, up 65% on the same period in 2025.
Deal volumes accelerated sharply, from £753.7m in Q1 to £2.31bn in Q2. The Q2 figure was 206% higher quarter on quarter, 299% higher year on year and 29% above the previous quarterly record.
Much of the growth came from a smaller number of larger deals, particularly in AI-enabled drug discovery. Isomorphic Labs’ £1.55bn series-B funding accounted for 67% of all capital raised in Q2.
Nicholas Blevins, head of UK science and innovation at Knight Frank, said: “The headline leasing figures tell only part of the story. Behind them sits a much larger growth narrative driven by venture capital investment, AI adoption, government support for innovation and increased spending on strategically important sectors such as defence, quantum and advanced technology.
“The companies securing funding today are the occupiers that will drive tomorrow’s demand for laboratory, R&D [research and development] and innovation space.”
Jennifer Townsend, partner, research – life sciences, at Knight Frank, added: “The second quarter underlined the increasing breadth of the UK’s science and innovation economy. London led golden triangle leasing after a quieter start to the year, while Oxford maintained a relatively steady level of demand and Cambridge normalised following its record first quarter that was punctuated by some larger transactions.
“The concentration of private capital in a small number of large transactions does, however, show why headline funding figures must be treated with care. For the real estate market, the most important indicator will be how far public and private capital translates into hiring, operational expansion and new space requirements.”
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