Europe's Largest Cultivated Meat Factory to Open in North Acton
Meatly will manufacture food for pet food market
A visualisation of what the facility might look like. Picture: Meatly
November 3, 2026
Cultivated meat company Meatly has relocated to Imperial College London’s Grapht Works facility in North Acton as it prepares for the next phase of growth and the launch of its first large-scale production operations in 2027.
The move follows the company’s £10.4 million Series A funding round announced in May and comes as Meatly seeks to scale up manufacturing of cultivated meat products for the pet food market. The company became the first business in Europe to sell cultivated meat after securing UK regulatory authorisation in 2024 and launching what it described as the world’s first cultivated pet food product in 2025.
Grapht Works, Imperial College London’s pilot and advanced manufacturing site, was established to help deep-tech companies bridge the gap between research and commercial production. Part of Imperial’s Old Oak Innovation Cluster within the wider WestTech London ecosystem, the facility offers flexible industrial space for businesses developing advanced technologies and manufacturing processes.
Meatly says the move will allow it to accelerate preparations for what will become Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility. The company has developed its own bioreactors and culture medium technology, designed to reduce production costs and support commercially viable manufacturing at scale.
Owen Ensor, Chief Executive Officer of Meatly, said: “Moving to Grapht Works is a significant step as we prepare to scale cultivated meat and become fully operational next year. We will be creating Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility and begin the move to large-scale production.
“Imperial has created the perfect space and community for innovators like Meatly who are making the transition from R&D to commercialisation, and we’re looking forward to growing together at Grapht Works as we work to make cultivated meat more widely available for pets.”
Imperial College London said Meatly’s arrival demonstrates the growing demand for facilities that support businesses moving from laboratory development to commercial manufacturing.
Alice Sewell, Investment Director at Imperial, said: “Our investment in Grapht Works was built on a belief that this is where the UK’s next generation of industrial companies could be built, if they had the right infrastructure. With Meatly taking this step towards full-scale production in 2027, it shows that our vision is starting to be realised.
“Cultivated meat is exactly the kind of frontier industry the UK should be anchoring, and by backing the space that enables companies like Meatly to scale, we’re helping to make sure the jobs, manufacturing capability and economic value they create stay in London and the wider WestTech London ecosystem.”
She added that Meatly’s expansion in Old Oak provides further evidence that deep-tech businesses are looking to remain and grow in London as they move towards commercial production.
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