A point of care diagnostics testing company has doubled its footprint in Lanarkshire amid a massive £78m Scottish expansion push.

LumiraDx, which provides coronavirus-related products for healthcare professionals, has expanded its presence at Maxim Park by more than 30,000 sq ft after first securing space there last year.

LumiraDx, which has over 1,200 global employees, originally leased the ground and first floors of Building 9 at Maxim Park, which is owned by Shelborn Asset Management. A new lease has now been completed for the remaining two floors, giving it an additional 30,000 sq ft, in one of the largest lettings to have been concluded this year in the Lanarkshire office market.

Michael Page, a global recruitment specialist brand within PageGroup, announced in February it is recruiting for hundreds of new jobs for LumiraDx.

It is claimed the roles will be crucial in the UK’s continued response to the Covid-19 pandemic through improved diagnosis and testing for the virus while vaccinations are rolled out nationwide.

The firm said there would be a £78m investment at three Scottish sites, with more than 500 new jobs being created in Scotland.

Life sciences giant LumiraDx to establish a global health research, development and manufacturing hub.

READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: 300 new medical tech jobs announced

Peter Welch, LumiraDx vice president business development said: “The last year has been an incredible time of growth for LumiraDx as we both scale-up the manufacturing of our point of care (POC) testing platform and continue to develop other transformational POC tests.

“To keep up with these market demands, it became critical for us to find additional space to devote for our growing R&D teams. We chose Maxim Park for its strong infrastructure and location with access to exceptional talent and look forward to growing the area’s life sciences industry.”

Shelborn Asset Management is currently in the process of fitting out the floors, creating bespoke research and development offices and high-tech laboratory space. By the end of 2023 LumiraDx expects to have more than 200 employees at the site.

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Brian Rabinowitz, director at Shelborn Asset Management said: “Since acquiring Maximm Park in 2018, we’ve seen incredible progress, having attracted new names to the site and making strategic investment in amenities and services for occupiers. We pride ourselves on not only providing a superior working environment, but in our flexible approach which allows us to accommodate the individual requirements of incoming organisations.”

“It’s been a pleasure to assist LumiraDx in realising its plans for its Maxim Park base, and we look forward to working with the team in years to come.”

Knight Frank and CBRE are the park’s joint letting agents, and Colin Mackenzie, partner at Knight Frank added: “This significant letting demonstrates the ongoing demand for high quality, contemporary office space despite the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We look forward to welcoming guests back to Maxim Park in the months ahead as restrictions lift. With organisations like LumiraDx taking such strides, it’s easy to see that attractive, spacious working environments like those provided at Maxim continue to have a bright and healthy future.”

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