Office, laboratory & meeting space in Torbay
World-class laboratory facilities, stunning serviced offices and a fabulous café in Torbay.
World-class laboratory facilities, stunning serviced offices, a fabulous café and meeting/conference facilities. That's what you'll see when you come to Brixham Laboratory.
It really is a great place to do business, as any of the organisations who have chosen to base themselves here will tell you.
We have a small but very friendly team here to ensure that everything runs well and that all of our clients and visitors are well looked after.
Now owned by the University of Plymouth, the Laboratory has been a big part of Brixham life for the past 65 years.
The origins of the Laboratory go back to the years immediately following the Second World War, when the Paints Division of ICI Ltd acquired an interest in the manufacture and sale of antifouling paints and required testing facilities. ICI purchased Cumber House at Vicarage Hill, Brixham.
It soon became apparent that facilities closer to the shoreline were required. The site on which the Laboratory is built today was originally a quarry supplying limestone for the outer breakwater.
The first permanent building at Freshwater Quarry was opened in 1953, and most of that building is still standing, forming the office area to the right of the main entrance.
Further expansion of the site occurred to allow space for ecotoxicology, analytical chemistry and environmental fate studies. In 1993 Zeneca was formed from the de-merger of ICI, and in 1999 AstraZeneca was formed when Astra AB merged with Zeneca.
In 2007/8 the most recent four-storey glass-fronted building was added to the site, officially opened by Princess Anne in May 2008.
AstraZeneca donated the Laboratory to the University of Plymouth. After securing anchor tenant Scymaris, the University has since grown the site to host 25 organisations, many collaborating through grant-funded research, knowledge transfer partnerships and student employment opportunities.
A loft conversion project, started in 2020 and completed in 2021 despite the challenges of Covid, created a large open-plan office with panoramic sea views, plus a smaller private office and meeting space.
The University of Plymouth became a partner in the INTERREG-funded EUROSWAC project, developing a Sea Water Air Conditioning system using Channel seawater, demonstrating proof of concept for shallow-water SWAC and laying the foundation for scaling the technology further.
Two laboratories were converted to support University of Plymouth PhD students researching biochemical indices of growth for juvenile sole, with further marine biology research projects planned for 2025 and 2026.
Approximately 2 minute drive away from Brixham town centre.
Approximately 45 minute taxi ride from Newton Abbot Train Station.
Approximately one hour's drive away from Exeter Airport.
Get in contact today to find out more and/or to arrange a tour of what's available for rent.
