Harry Pickering, Pioneer Group’s Portfolio Director & Head of UK Investment, joined our team six months ago. Formerly, Harry was Fund Manager with Schroders Capital, a role he moved into after occupying its position as Head of UK Retail and Leisure. He led the strategy and business plan for a real estate fund worth 1.5bn.

Harry spearheaded notable projects, including the £162m purchase of The Brewery in Romford and the £300m Bracknell town centre regeneration programme, where he led the asset management implementation and investment strategy. He also led the regeneration of Mermaid Quay at Cardiff Bay. Harry graduated from Oxford Brooks University with First-class Honours in Real Estate Management.

“Speed to market for life sciences is still the country’s biggest challenge.”

Harry Pickering

What attracts you to Pioneer Group’s mission to provide a platform for science businesses to deliver solutions to global health and human challenges? It seems quite a change from previous positions managing retail and leisure portfolios.

I’m very conscious of our overall impact on our health and the planet. This is where my initial interest in Pioneer Group started. Pioneer is at the forefront of scientific venture capital investment and operating ground-up operational activities to deliver global and human health solutions. Real Estate is the enabler for this great operational business base to grow. My experience in complex regeneration projects and real estate investment activities has allowed me to help develop the platform.

How does this role differ from your previous one with Schroders? What new challenges have you faced?

The overall ethos, philosophy and integrity aren’t very different. The Real Estate assets that Pioneer Group controls vary in size and complexity. The embedded campus style helps nurture scientific serendipity moments. The challenge I face is helping to provide the environment for these moments to happen and thrive. My regeneration and placemaking experience puts me in poll position to maximise the positives that bricks and mortar bring to the science community and the business.

How would you summarise the current life sciences investment landscape? We often hear about the high lab demand but too little lab space available. This is said to stunt the dynamism of life sciences in the UK and Ireland.

Speed to market for life sciences is still the country’s biggest challenge. Without real estate investment, the extensive talent the UK produces out of our education system will travel/move elsewhere, i.e. the EU and the US. However, building labs is just half the challenge. Providing the right environment for those businesses to grow and catering for their ongoing needs as they grow is also vital. We are meeting this challenge with our new lab spaces, buildings and locations opening periodically across our locations, fortified by our business services.

Pioneer Group’s operational arm provides this important ecosystem at every stage of business development, from incubator and accelerator programmes to Big Pharma transition. My job is to help real estate cater for this ever-evolving growth.

“Pioneer Group’s national campus philosophy provides a community of businesses who can connect across the whole country.”

Harry Pickering

Are regional life science clusters undervalued? The Golden Triangle is crucial to UK life sciences growth and innovation, but are the regions underutilised?

The greatest density of venture capital activity is most certainly the Golden Triangle. Catering for this demand in the right way is an important mission of our own. However, the regional activity in the UK is just as exciting. The broad breadth of talent is not solely retained in the South East. Life sciences activity and innovation come in all shapes and sizes.

For example, GMP and manufacturing facilities are more difficult to deliver in city centre locations. The regions are the natural place for these businesses. Coupled with sometimes unaffordable housing and a shortage of stock in the Golden Triangle, the regions have huge growth potential. Pioneer Group’s national campus philosophy provides a community of businesses that can connect across the whole country. Each business benefits from its ability to take occupation in multiple locations, depending on the business activity. The embedded business support from our operational business makes this possible.

Learn more about our science and technology Real Estate services here.