Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed an £850m investment into 800,000 square feet of new laboratory space across two sites in Cambridge by US company BioMed Realty, a real estate developer for the life sciences sector owned by Blackstone, an investment firm.

BioMed – who already own property at three sites in Cambridge – have acquired the 15-acre Cambridge International Technology Park on Fulbourn Road and a 27-acre plot at Granta Park. Both developments are still subject to planning consent.

The investment will add 2,700 jobs to the Cambridge life sciences industry, which employs over 15,500 people at over 430 companies and contributes £2.9 billion a year to the UK economy.

Johnson said: “This investment is hugely welcome news for Cambridge and the UK as a whole. The city was home to some of the country’s greatest scientific discoveries and I’m confident that the support of Blackstone’s BioMed Realty will mean there are many more to come.

“The jobs created by this investment are exactly the kind we want to see more of in the UK – high-skilled and future-facing, reflecting what the UK does best.”

The UK’s life sciences sector generates £64 billion of turnover and supports over 230,000 jobs.

The announcement of BioMed’s investment comes as demand for lab space in Cambridge hit a five-year high this year, with Bidwells reporting an availability rate of just 3.7%.