Property consultants Bidwells put demand for lab space in Cambridge at 1.19 million square feet (110,000 square metres) - but only 7,000 sq ft are available. That has led to an explosion in venture capital, with much of it coming from the United States. Michael Chen moved to Cambridge from the United States in 2012 to do a doctorate in chemistry. She leads a joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General (LGEN.L) to build lab space and homes. Pioneer Group, which provides funding and lab space in Britain, said action was needed now to address the "crazy" demand.

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Persons: Zoe, Toby Melville OXFORD, Ros Deegan, Catherine Elton, Bidwells, Elton, Deegan, Diarmuid O'Brien, Rishi Sunak's, Gordon Sanghera, Michael Chen, Artem Korolev, Anna Strongman, Strongman, Glenn Crocker, Alistair Cory, Qkine's Elton, Kate Holton, Toby Melville, David Clarke Organizations: University of Oxford, Science, REUTERS, European Union, Therapeutics, McKinsey, Oxford, Cambridge Enterprise, U.S, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Reuters, Company, Cambridge, PACE, Laboratory, Oxford University, Legal, Thomson Locations: Kidlington, Oxford, Britain, England, Cambridge, United States, London, U.S, France, Boston, North America, Europe, Asia, China