Offices to Let or Buy in Oxford

Business character

The two universities and the hospitals dominate employment. The 100 largest employers in Oxford account for about 66,600 jobs, or 60 per cent of the total, and the council's own list names the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, BMW (UK) Manufacturing, Unipart, Oxford University Press, Newsquest, Oxford Bus Company and Oxfordshire County Council. Around them has grown a life sciences and deep-technology sector that now sets the tone for the property market: Oxford Nanopore is headquartered at The Oxford Science Park, Oxford BioMedica and Cancer Research UK occupy ARC Oxford, the University's own Begbroke Science Park houses around 30 companies and 20 research groups, and Oxford Technology Park at Kidlington has attracted Oxford Ionics, Oxford Gene Technology and The Native Antigen Company. Publishing, tourism and retail matter too: the £500m Westgate centre alone supports around 3,400 jobs, and the city's 7 million annual visitors sustain a large hospitality trade. The result is an occupier base that wants labs, fitted offices and flexible space close to the research institutions, and a relatively small demand for conventional big-box logistics, which gravitates to Bicester, Didcot and the A34 corridor instead. Other significant employers include BMW Group Plant Oxford (Mini, Cowley), Unipart Group (head office, Garsington Road), Ellison Institute of Technology (Oxford Science Park) and Newsquest Oxfordshire.

Transport & connectivity

• Motorway: M40 (Junction M40 J8, 8 miles)
• Nearest rail: Oxford (Oxford Parkway at Water Eaton for the northern suburbs) (52 min to London)
• Airport: London Oxford (Kidlington), business aviation; Heathrow for scheduled flights (7 miles)
• Key A-roads: A34, A40, A44, A420, A4142 (Eastern Bypass), A423, A4144

Market context

Oxford is one of the most expensive office and lab markets outside London. Agent research put the prime office rent at £65 per sq ft at the end of 2025, up from a previous high of £60 in 2023, and prime laboratory rents were reported at £76.50 per sq ft in early 2024, with fitted lab space quoting higher still. The market is two-tier: well-capitalised occupiers compete for the best fitted space while cost-conscious tenants look for value on the business parks and in older city centre buildings. Industrial rents are high because stock is so scarce. Agent research recorded prime Oxfordshire rents of £19 per sq ft for standard industrial space and £31 for mid-tech units in 2024, after mid-tech rents grew about 18.5 per cent a year since 2019, and the average asking rent for industrial units in Oxford is around £14 per sq ft. Retail is split between the Westgate and Cornmarket core, where the national chains sit, and the suburban parades of Summertown, Headington and Cowley Road.