Oxford investment levels up 60 per cent

By Nicky Godding

13 January 2020

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Property consultancy Savills, has reported that the Oxford investment market saw significant activity in 2019.

To date up to £181 million has been transacted, 61% above the year-end total for 2018 and 43% up on the ten year average. This has been underpinned by investor demand, which has been driven by an increasingly strong occupational market. Rents have reached £40 per sq ft (£430 per sq m) this year and are forecasted to hit £46 per sq ft (£495 per sq m) by 2023.

Notable investment deals include the sale of Units A and B at Oxford Technology Park to Strathclyde Pension Fund for £16.350 million. The former warehouse unit was transformed into laboratory space and let to a science related firm on a new 15-year lease, an increasingly important sector for the city.

Oxford Technology Park is a major new science and technology park poised to provide office and research & development space on Oxfordshire’s A34 Knowledge Economy spine.

Another significant transaction was Littlemore Park to Charter House for £7.5 million, providing the new owner with significant future development potential and close proximity to Oxford Science Park. One of the largest deals completed this year was the sale of Seacourt Tower a prime mixed-use investment opportunity in Botley, the sale took place significantly ahead of the £65 million asking price.

Savills notes there has also been a number of off market deals valuing circa £30 million. These transactions prove Oxford’s strong fundamentals as investors seek to limit competition for trophy assets within the region.

Jan Losch, associate in the commercial agency team at Savills Oxford, said: “Oxford continues to attract investors looking for strong income producing assets in an increasingly exciting market. The growth of sectors such as technology and life sciences has led to a number of key lettings for the city, which has encouraged further activity from both institutional and private investors. We anticipate this to continue into 2020 as Oxford undergoes further development and more opportunities present themselves to potential purchasers.”

By 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.