18th September 2023

Oxford University Development marks delivery milestone at Begbroke

Oxford University Development (OUD), the joint venture partnership between Oxford University and Legal & General, has ‘topped out’ two new buildings at Begbroke Science Park. The moment was marked with a ceremony and the planting of a new tree in the grounds.

The Nyssa Sylvatica tree was planted by OUD’s CEO Anna Strongman, alongside Professor Irene Tracey, Vice Chancellor of Oxford University; Sir Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive of Legal & General and Rob Lemming, Director of Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Construction at Mace Group.

The two new buildings will deliver circa 135,000 sq ft of space for commercial research companies to grow alongside facilities for innovative university research. One of the buildings will provide circa 54,000 sq ft of academic facilities, while the second building will provide 81,000 sq ft of commercial space.

Anna Strongman said: “The two new science buildings at Begbroke form an important part of our mission to deliver world-class research facilities and incubator space. By purposefully curating academic facilities alongside commercial space, we can nurture the ever-growing number of spinouts emerging from the university, which are delivering new scientific discoveries that will change the world.”

According to research from Oxford University Innovation, Oxford University has created 300 new companies since 1988, with over a third of these created in the past three years. In 2021-2022, the spin outs employed over 6,100 people, earning over £600m in revenues and attracting more than £1.2bn in investment to the UK economy.

Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University added: “Begbroke Science Park is a vital part of the University’s research and innovation infrastructure. It’s also a key enabler of our future development, as we seek to build on its unique strengths in bringing together science and industry to harness our researchers’ world-leading expertise and tackle an ever-wider range of real-world challenges. These two new buildings will provide a fantastic new setting for science, collaboration and knowledge-sharing, creating new jobs and supporting the growth of Oxford’s flourishing innovation economy.”

OUD brings together the land and opportunities of Oxford University with the investment and development management skills of Legal & General. Backed by £4bn of investment capital from Legal & General, OUD was established in order to provide thousands of homes for staff and students, incubator space and academic facilities. It will help retain talent in the city, whilst providing the facilities for world- leading research and innovation, as well as much needed housing.

The two new buildings are not part of the recent Begbroke Innovation District planning application. However, if the application is approved, they will form part of the wider 170-hectare estate once it is completed.

The net development cost of the project is £59 million. It has been designed by NBBJ and is being delivered by Mace. Completion is anticipated next year.