Experienced healthcare contractor Stepnell has completed a £5.5m refurbishment and extension to Leicester Diabetes Centre at Leicester General Hospital, reinforcing its position as the largest and one of the leading clinical research centres for diabetes in the UK.
The three-storey extension sits within the original building’s H-shaped footprint of more than 10,000 sq m and includes new clinical research rooms, offices, staff facilities, a lifestyle gymnasium and a metabolic kitchen. Full-height windows on the south elevation maximise natural daylight, while a glazed atrium encloses the southern courtyard.
Delivered for University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and the University of Leicester through the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) framework, the project has enhanced a centre that has grown from employing a single research nurse to more than 200 colleagues.
Tom Sewell, director at Stepnell, said: “Live healthcare sites demand specialist experience and the client-contractor relationship is vital to exceeding the required behaviours of working on site. Building next to live wards caring for very ill patients meant we had to work closely with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust to ensure we took a considerate and efficient approach to the delivery programme.”
Designed by Stephen George + Partners, the scheme was completed within a 52-week programme on a steeply sloping site enclosed on three sides by occupied hospital buildings. The project team first removed an embankment and diverted a mains electrical supply running beneath the building footprint.
To meet Health Technical Memoranda standards, specialist contractors installed encapsulated doors and integrated panel systems under the supervision of a hospital hygiene inspector. Rather than using fixed scaffolding, Stepnell utilised mobile elevating work platforms to install the silver profiled steel cladding, coordinating road closures with the Trust to facilitate crane lifts and deliveries.
The contractor also supported a T Level student, who spent one day a week shadowing site managers, while members of the project team volunteered to plant 2,000 saplings within the hospital grounds. By working with its established local supply chain, the majority of labour and supply chain expenditure remained within a 30-mile radius of the site.
Step Energy, part of the Stepnell Group, delivered the project’s renewable energy strategy through the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof.
Tom added: “With no defects reported by the Trust since handover, it’s incredibly rewarding to have delivered a high-quality expansion of this world-class research facility that will improve its capabilities for diabetes and long-term conditions research.”
The project, which represents the first phase of a wider expansion of the centre, was shortlisted in the Medium Non-Residential Scheme of the Year category at the 2026 ProCon Leicestershire Awards.
Bernie Stribling, assistant director of international and external business development at Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “The building has exceeded our expectations, and we are incredibly proud of what has been achieved. This has been a genuine team effort, bringing together colleagues from the Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, the University of Leicester, Stepnell and the wider project team.
“The new space will strengthen our ability to deliver world-leading clinical research, education and innovation in diabetes and other long-term conditions, ultimately helping us improve outcomes for people living with these conditions.”
(Image credit: Beth Walsh)