Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is one the smallest Gerald Eve regions, with one of the lowest volumes of stock. While the region has good transport links and good access to London, it suffers from a lack of available land for large warehouse development, and the M40 is one of the least heavily warehouse-populated motorways in the country. Despite being small in logistics property terms, we expect occupiers to be drawn to the speculative space being developed given the region’s more cost-effective entry point into the London market.

Occupier take-up was very strong in Oxfordshire in 2020, as several logistics companies made large scale commitments to the region. Hermes, Great Bear Distribution and Arrival all took space in 2020 with occupier interest focused on Banbury and Bicester. Developers responded to this uplift in occupier activity by instigating speculative schemes, and a handful of units were delivered in Didcot and Bicester during the year. The availability rate in the region remained above average at the end of 2020, at 14%, but this is reflective of the small nature of the market rather than the overall volume of available space – given there is only 1 million sq ft marketed as available. This region has historically suffered from a lack of available land for development, but there is the potential for schemes in Banbury, Bicester and Wallingford to add stock along the M40 corridor and attract occupiers. The outlook for rental growth in the region is an above average 2.7% per year over the next 3 years.