Opus Land is set to develop a giant office scheme at Exxon Mobil’s former UK research and development headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Opus, an in-house development company of Palmer Capital Partners, has agreed to buy the 40-acre (16.2ha) Milton Hill technology centre for £7m-£10m.
The petroleum giant has been looking to offload the site following Exxon Corporations merger with the Mobil Corporation in November 1999, which saw it consolidate its R&D operations into a single complex in Paulsboro, New Jersey.
Milton Hill, located 10 miles to the south of Oxford, consists of 300,000 sq ft (27,900 sq m) of offices, R&D laboratories and engine test facilities.
Opus is planning to let the site in the short term for around three years to generate income until the market picks up.
At the same time it will draw up a planning application for more than 300,000 sq ft of (27,870 sq m) offices. Opus is keen to add further space to the scheme in the future.
An application for the project is expected to be submitted within the next year.
Rents for Grade A space in the area are more than £20 per sq ft (£215 per sq m).
Exxon Mobils research arm, Infinium, is interested in remaining a short-term tenant on the site before consolidating into a 15-acre (6ha) R&D centre to the rear of the Exxon Mobil complex.
The other tenant at the site is KS Engineering.
A source close to the deal said: “Opus is looking to attract R&D industries already located in the Oxford area.
“It is an interesting area with a strong employment pool, capable of charging cheaper rents than those in the Thames Valley.”
Neither Exxon Mobil nor Opus’s managing director Richard Smith would comment on the deal.
Jones Lang LaSalle advised Exxon Mobil; Dovebid Bache and Marriotts advised Opus Land.
EGi News 28/10/02
