Commonwealth Asset Management, a Los Angeles-based real estate group that is a major developer of film studios in the US and the UK, has bought a site with consent for an 1 million-square-foot-plus distribution and warehouse scheme next to Bicester Village in Oxfordshire.
The 76-acre site has been sold by Graven Hill Village Development Company with outline planning permission for 1.12 million square feet of storage and distribution space alongside open space and sustainable drainage systems. The site has a separate access from the Pioneer Road roundabout and does not run through any of the residential areas of Graven Hill.
Market sources have suggested that Commonwealth has also viewed the site as a potential location for a film studios development. That is because Commonwealth owns Shadowbox Studios, formerly Blackhall Studios, which is developing major film studios in the US and the UK, including a 1 million-square-foot sound stage complex at Shinfield in Reading.
Graven Hill is a former Ministry of Defence site that is already home to the UK’s largest self and custom build residential development. It is close to the Bicester Village Designer Outlet with amenities planned including a sports pavilion, pitches and allotments. A community centre is also set to be delivered by the local council. GHVDC is also seeking local contractors to tender for its next phase of new homes and apartments.
Adrian Unitt, operations director at Graven Hill Village Development Compan declined to name the buyer, but said in a statement: “Graven Hill is a sustainable development, offering a wide variety of choice in terms of housing, set in expansive green spaces and supported by community facilities such as the new primary school, Market Square Dental’s state-of-the-art practice, Wine Rack and Wine Valley Cocktail Bar and new coffee bar. The sale of the employment site further enhances the development’s sustainability credentials creating new job opportunities alongside a thriving community.”
Knight Frank and White Commercial Surveyors supported GHVDC with the sale with White Commercial continuing to provide commercial property advice on all of the commercial space, as well as marketing a separate site available for a pub restaurant at the frontage of the development.
Chris White, MD at White Commercial Surveyors said: “The sale of the Strategic Commercial Development site at Graven Hill is excellent news for Bicester and the Oxfordshire region which is witnessing both residential and commercial property expansion.
“There is significant interest in the area from both manufacturing and distribution companies wishing to locate to modern facilities in Central England close to Oxford and along the excellent London to Birmingham M40. This Investment will provide both quality employment opportunities and also additional economic investment and growth for the region.”
Commonwealth Asset Management is run by president Peter Rumbold.