Oxfordshire R&D rents rocket

Research by Bidwells has shown spiralling rents for research space in Oxfordshire.

The property advisor reported an increase of 24.3 per cent in office and laboratory rents in the county at the end of 2019. It showed demand of more than 1.1 million sq ft with just 569,500 sq ft of Grade A space available.

Bidwells says rents for R&D space are now at an all-time high of £43.50 per sq ft in Oxfordshire, just behind prime rents for the equivalent space in Cambridge.

Total Oxford office take-up for last year was 225,300 sq ft with science and technology businesses responsible for 60 per cent of it.

Bidwells partner David Williams said: “Ensuring the world’s best can flourish in Oxford is critical for our region’s economy but ensuring an adequate supply of correctly-located offices and research labs is equally important to ensure our most successful businesses can develop and expand in Oxfordshire.

“There is now just 173,000 sq ft of Grade A space available to expanding businesses.”

“We are emerging from a period where demand has outstripped supply, but we are now entering a new and exciting stage in Oxford’s evolution as major new campuses like Oxford North and regeneration projects in the city centre deliver significant floor space. There is no shortage of interest in Oxford.

“The forthcoming West End area and Osney Mead will also give Oxford a world-class innovation quarter. In the short term, however, we are focussed on delivering laboratory projects to serve the multitude of early stage spin out companies.”

* Image: By Chensiyuan – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52257860