​​From Lab Space to Life Sciences Hub: A Hybrid Tenant Strategy for TwentyOne​

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Bondi Consult is facing a strategic leasing and positioning question at TwentyOne Business Quarter in Vienna-Floridsdorf. The existing laboratory and office infrastructure provides a basis for attracting life sciences tenants, the optimal tenant and operating model being the focus of the collaboration. While a managed laboratory incubator could strengthen TwentyOne’s innovation profile, it would require high occupancy, clear service scope, cost recovery, and financially capable tenants. The central issue is therefore how TwentyOne’s laboratory space can generate stable occupancy, ecosystem credibility, and long-term commercial value. 

Goal 

The goal of this report is to provide Bondi Consult with an evidence-based tenant strategy for TwentyOne. It assesses whether Bondi Consult should prioritise a managed laboratory incubator, an established-tenant strategy, or a hybrid model combining stable anchor tenants with a selective startup layer. In particular, the latter would foster exchange among tenants, encourage the sharing of know-how and resources, and strengthen the existing research ecosystem, not least because TwentyOne sits in close proximity to AIT and the Siemens headquarters.  

Methodology 

The report follows a structured evidence-based approach. Secondary research was used to analyse Vienna’s life sciences market, laboratory real estate supply, regulatory conditions, competing locations, and TwentyOne’s asset-specific characteristics. The analysis was structured through PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, a strategic group map, and VRIO. Primary research was conducted through semi-structured expert interviews with a large number of highly qualified interviewees, the majority of whom operate at C-level in the life sciences sector, whether from a tenant or landlord perspective or within the relevant venture capital space. In addition, a preliminary rent-only financial model tested whether rental income from selected laboratory units could recover the estimated investment in shared equipment and core-facility infrastructure. 

Results 

The analysis shows that Vienna offers strong demand fundamentals for life sciences space, supported by public R&D activity, low reported laboratory vacancy, and demand for operationally ready BSL-1/2 infrastructure. However, future cluster-adjacent projects, especially the Life Science Center Vienna from 2029 onward, will increase competitive pressure. TwentyOne is differentiated by commercial flexibility and existing infrastructure, but is less embedded in established life sciences clusters than Vienna BioCenter, Neu Marx, or Muthgasse. 

The interviews indicate that early-stage startups need flexible and equipped laboratory space, but often lack the financial capacity to support a commercially robust incubator model. More mature tenants, such as scale-ups, CRO/TIC providers, established life sciences firms, medical device or IVD testing users, and selected FoodTech or precision-fermentation companies, are better aligned with Bondi Consult’s real estate economics. 

The financial model confirms this conclusion. Based on 1,376 m² of analysed laboratory space, an estimated equipment base of €8.53 million, and a 30% risk buffer, the investment base amounts to approximately €11.08 million. Under the rent-only model, this investment is not recovered over a roughly 20-year period, even without operating and maintaining costs. 

The report therefore recommends that Bondi Consult should not pursue a pure early-stage startup incubator as the primary tenant strategy. Instead, Bondi Consult should implement a staged hybrid model based on financially stable tenants, complemented by a selective startup layer where service scope, cost recovery, and operational responsibilities are clearly defined. The true incubator value lies in fostering close interaction between the tenants, thereby turning shared synergies, know-how, ideas and talent into a lasting strength of the location.  

Cooperation Partner 

• ​​Bondi Consult GmbH 
  Rotenturmstrasse 13 
  1010 Wien 
  Austria 
  www.bondiconsult.com​ 

​​Contact Person​ 

• ​​Felix Hohenberg 
  felix.hohenberg@bondiconsult.com​ 

Student Team 

• ​​​Glenn Ziehensack 
  Tjarden Becker 
  Julian Wegscheider 
  Alexander Wienerroiter  
  Linus Fleischmann  
  Yona Beer​​ 

Project Manager 

• ​​​Sandra Jeske, MSc.​ 

• ​Jakob Riener, MA​