Morgan Sindall Construction wins Best Main Contractor at 2025 Life Sciences Awards
Morgan Sindall Construction was presented with the top contractor honour at the inaugural Construction News Life Sciences Awards last week.
At the ceremony, which was hosted in partnership with CN’s sister magazine Property Week, Morgan Sindall was recognised for its delivery of major life sciences schemes for high-profile clients.
The judges noted Morgan Sindall’s strong focus on improving original designs and embedding sustainability across projects. They said:
It was an impressive entry showcasing significant contributions to major life sciences projects for leading clients.
The team demonstrated a clear commitment to enhancing original designs while prioritising sustainability, notably through the development and deployment of a bespoke digital tool [CarboniCa] to reduce the carbon footprint of construction.”
Morgan Sindall’s holistic approach to ESG was also praised, with the judges saying that it “further reinforces its role as a forward-thinking and responsible leader in the sector”.
The shortlist for the Best Main Contractor category included Mace, with Morgan Sindall taking the top spot thanks to a number of recent impressive projects which leveraged its Intelligent Solutions approach to creating innovative, high-end environments.
Morgan Sindall’s London business has delivered multiple research buildings for life sciences developers and end users. This has included for Kadans Science Partner and King’s College London (KCL), with projects such as the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) in the SC1 London Life Sciences Innovation District and Kadans’ MAYDE building in the King’s Cross Knowledge Quarter.
LIHE is embedded within St. Thomas’ hospital’s campus and brings together KCL’s platform for supporting spinout businesses. Its flexible design allows research to quickly be turned into prototypes, streamlining healthcare engineering and providing social value. MAYDE is London’s first space to provide pilot-manufacturing facilities alongside lettable laboratory and write-up space.
These BREEAM Excellent rated facilities have been central to the development of creative and dynamic mixed-use innovation districts, providing spaces to consider, collaborate and innovate advanced technologies and processes.
Morgan Sindall’s contribution to the capital’s health and life sciences sector is continuing at pace, with several landmark projects under construction. The tier one contractor is onsite at 17 Columbus Courtyard (17CC) in Canary Wharf, which will transform the existing building into a state-of-the-art life science and technology hub.
Due to complete in Q3 2026, 17CC will provide 190,000 sq. ft of flexible laboratory and office space. Its design embraces the principles of a circular economy and will minimise both embodied and operational carbon. This approach will reduce raw material usage, limiting the project’s upfront embodied carbon to just 337 kgCO2e/m2 and diverting at least 95 per cent of construction waste from landfill.
Morgan Sindall is also working with Kadans Science Partner on Versa, a new purpose-built laboratory facility in King’s Cross. Located at 4 Brandon Road and scheduled for completion in Q2 2026, Versa will provide 51,500 sq. ft of space for a range of uses, including CL2 labs, dedicated production, and pilot spaces. Following the completion of MAYDE, this project will extend Kadans’ commitment to Tileyard Quarter and London’s life science cluster.
Richard Dobson, Morgan Sindall Construction’s Area Director for London, said:
Winning the Best Main Contractor category at the Construction News Life Sciences Awards is a fantastic testament to the innovation, expertise and hard work our teams have showcased at complex developments in this sector.
Projects such as LIHE, MAYDE, 17CC, and Versa provide the advanced, high-end spaces required to collaborate and innovate on ground-breaking technologies. With a growing demand for specialist lab and R&D space, these facilities are essential to powering the life science sector’s future growth.
As the judges recognised, we’ve also taken a lot of care to ensure these buildings are created as sustainably as possible. To achieve this, we’ve utilised the proprietary digital carbon calculation tool CarboniCa and focused on processes such as retrofit, circularity, and efficiency to significantly reduce carbon emissions.”
ENDS