Edinburgh BioQuarter Health Innovation District: Procurement of a Private Sector Partner

Edinburgh BioQuarter is one of Scotland’s largest health/life sciences innovation locations and a place where new ideas thrive to revolutionise health and wellbeing. It is a renowned destination for first-class clinical delivery, academic expertise and scientific research. It has developed over the past 20 years into one of the UK’s leading life sciences parks. EBQ3 Ltd has been established by City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Enterprise, and the University of Edinburgh (together the Contracting Authorities) with the objective to procure a private sector partner to work with them to invest in and accelerate the development of their vision at BioQuarter. The requirement of the private sector partner includes the delivery not only of new buildings, associated infrastructure and public realm on the available land, but also of health innovation services and community impact services, all in line with the “Primary Purpose” as described in the legal Heads of Terms. The private sector partner will be responsible for raising development funding to deliver the vision for BioQuarter. NHS Lothian is not a Contracting Authority for this procurement and is not involved in the procurement exercise. BioQuarter is a 167-acre site of which 103 acres has been, or is currently anticipated to be, self-developed by the Contracting Authorities and NHS Lothian themselves over the next 25 + years. Such future self-developments conducted by the Contracting Authorities will also be in line with the Primary Purpose. For the avoidance of doubt, the Primary Purpose will not apply to development on land owned by NHS Lothian. It is currently anticipated that the land available as part of this procurement exercise will be in the region of 64-acres of undeveloped land which is owned by Scottish Enterprise (the “PSP land zone”). The anticipated boundary is shown in the Bidders Information Pack. Early development assessments conducted by the Contracting Authorities estimate that there is development capacity in the region of 360,000 square metres gross internal (GIA) area in the PSP land zone. The vision of the Contracting Authorities is to transition BioQuarter into Edinburgh’s Health Innovation District; a new mixed-use urban neighbourhood of Edinburgh centred on a world leading community of health innovators and to grow BioQuarter into a global destination for pioneering health innovation and enterprise. Success for the BioQuarter Vision requires the acceleration of development and sufficient level of commercial health innovation accommodation to ensure BioQuarter is a model for commercial health innovation services that will see existing tenants and companies being retained and growing, and new tenants and companies being attracted. The Contracting Authorities aspire to have in the region of 50% of the GIA of development in the PSP land zone as commercial health innovation accommodation to maximise BioQuarter’s strategic objectives for economic growth and community impact and ensure a high level of accommodation is available for commercial health innovation companies and tenants. The Contracting Authorities understand that this ambition needs to be balanced with commercial viability. Whilst no third-party funding has to date been assured to support the project, the Contracting Authorities are actively pursuing such funding to support the development and bidders will be advised during dialogue. Further details of the opportunity, the proposed contractual arrangements and the procurement process are set out in the supporting documentation available in PCS-T. The Contracting Authorities are hosting an online bidders event on Tuesday 9th November 2021 from 09.00am to 10.00am GMT. Please complete registration on the following link - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-bioquarter-health-innovation-district-joint-venture-bidders-event-tickets-199858711787