Voice Of The Region: Oxfordshire Turbocharged technology sector takes off

<p>With more than £1.25bn of external funding since the start of 2020, the technology sector in Oxfordshire is entering a golden age which has seen it pull ahead of old rivals in Cambridgeshire, according to VSL & Partners director Richard Venables.</p> <p> </p> <p>The company comfortably leads the Oxfordshire On Demand Radius Rankings with almost 300,000 sq ft of transacted space so far this year. More than a third of this was down to lettings to Arrival, a company that makes electric commercial vehicles and whose decision to locate in Bicester was influenced heavily by its proximity to Oxford University.</p> <p> </p> <p>And Arrival is not alone; according to Venables around 20 companies a year are spinning out of the University in sectors ranging from transport to life sciences, AI, engineering and, famously, vaccine research.</p> <p> </p> <p>This has pushed up rental values in the county and also attracted inevitable interest from investors, where yields are now at record lows.</p>