Opportunities For Your Land - Strategic Commercial Development Sites

Land with development potential is in significant demand as the Government steps up its ambitions on economic growth.

While this offers exciting potential for landowners, seeking good advice and support at the outset from professionals who understand the market is key to achieving the best outcome. 

A good example of what this looks like in action is land now known as Tritax Park, Oxford, where the landowner approached Brown&Co’s commercial team at Banbury to act as a conduit for securing a development agreement with an industrial developer. 

The team had secured the partnership for this development agreement with logistics real estate expert, Tritax Big Box Developments, who, under agreed terms, handled the planning application consent process for a total proposed development area of c. 2.4million square feet (sqft). 

Phase one commenced in early 2024 and consisted of a new signalised A41 road access, utilities and a 370,000 sqft production unit which is now almost complete on part of the 160-acre block of land adjacent to the J9 M40 and A41 interchange.

The principle occupier is Siemens Healthineers Magnet Technology, a business that had high specifications and requirements on build quality and sustainability for a building which will eventually extend to 604,000 sqft (phases 1& 2) and will be used as an MRI research and development facility employing more than 1,300 highly skilled workers.

The building is being delivered to net zero carbon in construction, a BREEAM Very Good rating and incorporates roof mounted solar power generation, electric vehicle charging, water saving measures and LED lighting.

With project targeting an energy performance certificate rating of A and zero carbon emissions during the building’s construction, Tom Leeming, director of Tritax Big Box Developments, admits that delivering a development on the scale seen in Phase 1 Tritax Park Oxford had been “no mean feat’’. 

Brown&Co were consummate professionals throughout, enabling a complex transaction to be completed in a timely manner to the benefit of all parties involved. We look forward to working with Brown&Co again in the near future.

Tom Leeming, director of Tritax Big Box Developments

The requirement of this site and other future developments to meet market environmental and sustainability expectations is only increasing, although there is a cost to that.

At 2025 prices, basic warehouse and logistic buildings cost in the region of £65-£85 per sqft to build, without accounting for access, services and connections, professional fees, planning and promotion costs, landscaping and other factors.

The upward movement in construction costs started in 2020 and, although the cost peak for materials passed in 2022, an increase in professional fees means that any downward trend in the price of building new projects is unlikely.

According to the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), there is an expected increase of 17% in the next five years, and a 15% rise in tender prices. An added pressure is a shortage of skilled labour in construction. But demand by end users is also driving up rent and acquisition prices and looks set to continue.

Taking all this into account, it is important for landowners to engage early with development experts at Brown&Co to maximise the value of land.

The company’s knowledge and its network of developers and promoters can help every client to find the right partner.

This article was featured within our latest Innovate magazine. To read more, please click here.