A family of property billionaires have donated £5 million towards a world-class medical research centre.
The Pears, who own the Coutts building on the Strand and large tracts of Notting Hill, have given the funds to the Royal Free Charity.
The money will go towards the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, which will be housed in a building next to the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead.
The institute will be dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases such as cancer and HIV. Researchers will also explore the use of stem cells to grow organs for transplantation. The Royal Free Charity and UCL are raising the £42 million needed, with construction due to start next year.
The donation is the largest ever given by the Hampstead-based Pears Foundation. Trevor Pears, who runs the family’s estimated £6 billion property empire with his brothers Mark and David, said they were “proud” to support their local NHS hospital.
