Benzinga | Jul 16, 2021 07:34AM EDT

GSK To Sell One-Third Of Its UK R&D Site For 400M

* GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) is planning to sell more than one-third of its 92-acre R&D site in Stevenage, the U.K.

* The Company is looking to sell 33 acres of the site and unlock up to ?400 million ($554 million) of investment from a private sector developer to build a campus for biotechs and other early-stage life science companies.

* The new campus could deliver 100,000 square meters of new floorspace.

* While GSK wants to sell around 35% of the land, its existing R&D operations at Stevenage are unaffected by the new development plans.

* The site is already home to the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, the latter of which is home to more than 40 companies.

* "Our goal is for Stevenage to emerge as a top destination for medical and scientific research by the end of the decade," Tony Wood, SVP, medicinal science and technology at GSK, said in a statement.

* GSK plans to select a development partner by the end of the year and start master planning for the new campus in 2022.

* Over the next five to 10 years, GSK sees the creation of up to 5,000 jobs.

* The potential cash injection is the only near-term benefit, though, when GSK needs wins to ease the pressure from Elliott Management. The activist U.S. hedge fund has criticized GSK for its historically low R&D investment.

* Price Action: GSK shares are up 0.08% at $39.65 during the premarket session on the last check Friday.