Legal & General (L&G) has announced it will fund and deliver the new innovation district at Begbroke, part of its £4 billion partnership with the University of Oxford.
It will mean extending Oxford’s existing Begbroke Science Park across an adjacent 14-hectare site. The first phase of the scheme will bring new teaching areas for the university’s mathematical, physical and life sciences departments and provide incubation space for spin outs.
In subsequent phases the joint venture, Oxford University Development (OUD), will seek to develop 2,000 new homes including a mix of affordable and subsidised key worker accommodation. The live/study/work concept for the innovation district will eventually include a hotel, restaurant, bars, cafes, shops as well as places for education, community and sport.
It is the second development for the OUD partnership following the Life and Mind Building, the university’s largest ever building project, which was consented in January.
Laura Mason, chief executive of Legal & General Capital, said: “As we have seen over the last two years, the life sciences and health sectors have never been more important, and new schemes like Begbroke will help the UK continue to lead the way and ensure future health emergencies can become just health events.
“UK universities are world-leading and we are helping realise their potential by investing in much needed science infrastructure, which can incubate the great talent and innovative spin-outs which come from these first class institutions.”
Dr David Prout, pro-vice chancellor at the University of Oxford, said: “We are delighted that this project is going ahead as part of our JV partnership with Legal & General. It will provide much needed expansion space for academic research and also for university spinouts and commercial collaborators. It will double the amount of space in the science park and form the first phase of a larger commercial, academic and residential development.”
Begbroke will be funded by long-term annuity money from Legal & General’s retirement business. Legal & General Capital will act as developer and Bruntwood SciTech (a joint venture between Legal & General Capital and Bruntwood) will be development manager for the first phase.
Chris Oglesby, executive chair of Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The development of Begbroke Science Park into a major new science and innovation district will provide much needed, additional research and innovation facilities for some of the UK’s most exciting life science businesses and support the creation of new high value, highly skilled jobs for the sector.
“Our reputation for working in partnership with public, private, academic and clinical institutions to create world-class science and tech clusters, that fuel innovation and foster collaboration, is why we’re well placed to help bring this ambitious vision to life.”
Legal & General Capital was advised by LGIM Real Assets.
Image: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
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