Life Science Real Estate segment shows stable development despite crisis

Life science real estate is a special, but increasingly relevant real estate asset class. The development is closely linked to global social and technological trends. The most important markets include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands. The example of the Netherlands makes it clear which location factors are decisive for life science real estate. A strong international network, high-performing universities and an innovation-friendly environment form the basis for successful science parks. Characteristic of life science real estate is the combination of different types of use such as office, laboratory and development space within a building. The aim is to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and to support innovation processes spatially. These are the key findings of today's press conference, which was attended by Martin Eberhardt, CEO, HELIX alpha, Martin Kraaij, Fund Director, a.s.r. real estate, and Dr. Manuel Schrapers, Managing Director, Metroplan.

First of all, Martin Eberhardt, CEO, HELIX alpha, emphasizes that numerous global megatrends are driving the growth of the life science real estate segment. "Demographic change, the growth of the global middle class, the increase in lifestyle diseases in the course of aging or climate change are all directly or indirectly leading to sustainable growth in the life science sector." What exactly is meant by the term "life science" is not uniformly seen in the industry. Ideas about which areas belong to it differ quite a bit – a precise definition is therefore essential. "The core is formed by biotechnology, medical technology and the pharmaceutical industry, supplemented by digital health solutions in the field of e-health and the respective suppliers," says Eberhardt. The HELIX alpha CEO then talks about the high structural requirements: "The requirements are more complex than for an office or residential property. For example, ventilation in laboratories must ensure 6 to 12 air exchanges per hour. For example, the removal of dangerous vapours and aerosols is to be ensured. Another example is the S1 and S2 capability in life science real estate. This refers to biosafety levels in laboratories, where S1 means low risk and S2 moderate risk from biological or pathogenic substances."

As the backbone of the healthcare industry, Life Science Real Estate creates indispensable spaces for research, production and distribution. This makes it an infrastructure-related asset class with a high level of resilience – and measurable social added value.

Life Science has increasingly established itself as a liquid real estate asset class. After a slump in 2023, the transaction volume across Europe reached around 2.8 billion euros again in 2024. The main markets are the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Martin Kraaij, Fund Director of the ASR Dutch Science Park Fund at a.s.r. real estate, then discusses the market in the Netherlands. Kraaij manages the 275 million euro ASR Dutch Science Park Fund, which holds twelve properties in the Netherlands. Kraaij first emphasizes the advantages of the Dutch market. "The Netherlands came first in the ranking of the DHL Global Connectedness Report in 2024. This means that hardly any other country is so strongly integrated into global networks. Furthermore, the Netherlands has five universities among the global top 100 universities. The Netherlands also achieves a good ranking in the Global Innovation Index. In short, the Netherlands offers very good conditions for companies that are tenants of life science properties." a.s.r. real estate divides the life science parks into "Established" and "Emerging". Examples of very well-established parks are the Amsterdam Science Park in the southeast of the Dutch capital, the Leiden Bio Science Park or the TU Delft Campus at one of Europe's leading technical universities. Kraaij says: "When selecting properties, we look at the know-how anchors in a park, at the entire ecosystem, at the local real estate market and also at the economic strength of the region."

Commenting on returns, Kraaij says: "There is also an increase in yields in the Life Science segment between 2022 and 2024. Yields rose from 6.8 percent at the beginning of 2022 to 7.5 percent in the third quarter of 2025. This is a relatively small increase in returns – especially compared to offices but also to residential – and underlines the crisis resilience of Science Parks."

Dr. Manuel Schrapers, CEO of Metroplan, advises companies that are tenants in science parks on settling. He explains: "In general, life science properties have higher requirements than properties of other types of use. In addition, life science real estate is characterized by the combination of office, laboratory and development space. In this way, interdisciplinary cooperation is promoted and communication channels are shortened. The building not only acts as a shell, but as an active part of the research and innovation process." Schrapers also emphasizes the role of architectural and façade design. This is often intended to reflect the product or company DNA. Furthermore, according to the Metroplan CEO, there are strict planning boundary conditions in Germany due to standards, approval law and regulations – for example, the Federal Immission Control Act. For example, a special exhaust air and wastewater system is prescribed. In general, life science properties also have a higher proportion of technical building equipment than other types of use.