GRAHAM has been selected by global molecular diagnostics company, QIAGEN, to complete the £9.9m interior fit-out of its new Manchester headquarters.

The privately-owned fit-out contractor will help to create 92,000 sq ft of high specification, flexible office, laboratory, and clinical space at the recently constructed Citylabs 2.0 building, which is located in Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district – an area that is fast becoming a world-class centre for diagnostics and healthcare research and development.

Work, comprising of a CAT B fit-out over ground, plus five levels of accommodation, began in August 2020, and is scheduled for completion in May 2021.

Designed by Sheppard Robson, and developed by Bruntwood alongside the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the high-tech development will become QIAGEN’s Centre of Excellence for Precision Medicine once the fit-out programme has been finalised.

GRAHAM is working collaboratively with commercial real estate firm, Cushman & Wakefield PLC, to ensure the successful relocation of QIAGEN from its existing base at the Manchester Science Park.

Commenting on the contract award Sue Blanche, GRAHAM Development Director, said: “It is a tremendous honour for GRAHAM to have been awarded this contract by QIAGEN to fit-out its new Manchester headquarters, Citylabs 2.0, which is situated within Europe’s largest clinical-academic campus. At GRAHAM, our focus is on delivering lasting impact, and this project will do exactly that as it will support QIAGEN and its partners to bring real health benefits to millions of people, while also supporting the creation of thousands of high-quality jobs.

“We continue to work closely with QIAGEN and Cushman & Wakefield to meet the exacting standards required of a world-leading office, clinical and laboratory working environment.”