Botley and Cumnor in Oxford bouncing back after succession of deals

Published by

Nicky Godding

The heartland of Oxford’s professional services district is recovering strongly with three deals agreed in quick succession.

Botley and Cumnor to the West of the city have traditionally been the area to find banks, lawyers and accountancy firms and despite the impact of Covid-19 it is remaining buoyant, according to experts at commercial property specialists VSL.

Financial services business Grant Thornton has further cemented its presence in the area after letting a 4,276 sq ft space on the ground floor of Seacourt Tower, Botley. A five-year lease was agreed with VSL acting for MA Seacourt Ltd.

The iconic building comprising 176,000 sq ft of multi-let offices and retail warehousing, is also occupied by other major names such as Blake Morgan solicitors, property consultants Bidwells and Swedish bankers Handelsbanken.

Meanwhile, VSL has also just completed on a deal which will see expanding international patent and trademark attorneys Dehns move into ground floor office space at Willow Court, Botley.

Global communications agency McCann Health has moved into office space at 201 Cumnor Hill which is also occupied by Beard Construction. McCann has taken a five-year lease.

VSL director Richard Venables said: “This area contains long-established Oxford businesses which are now strengthening their commitment to the area through this succession of deals.

“It is a sign that the foundations of the local economy are strong and provides a lot of confidence as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.