Banbury is the second largest town in Oxfordshire with a population in the region of 54,335 (2021 Census). The town is situated in the prosperous OX16 Cherwell District a recognised growth area with an estimated population of 161,000 (2021 Census). The major centres of Oxford (25 miles), Cheltenham and Gloucester (35 miles), Birmingham (45 miles), Buckingham (17 miles) and London (70 miles) are all within easy reach of Banbury’s excellent motorway connections from the J11 of the M40 the M1, M42 and M25.

Banbury OX16, is principally a manufacturing town and service centre and is subject to growth by virtue of Oxford’s expansion which is focused by government agreement through its satellite county towns. The Cherwell district is a relatively prosperous area; has high levels of employment, a prolific manufacturing sector with work place earnings below the regional level.

Banbury benefits from excellent communications being situated at Junction 11 of the London to Birmingham motorway; mainline rail links (Chiltern Line) with Birmingham Snowhill and London Marylebone as well as Oxford and Reading with the South Coast (A34/Poole railway line) whilst also keeping its market town heritage with many period 17th Century buildings of interest in the town centre.

There are a number of modern large recent commercial developments including the out-of-town Banbury Gateway Retail Scheme at junction 11 of the M40 Motorway including Marks and Spencer, Primark and Next.

There are also a number of large industrial units close to the M40 (at Central M40) for Prodrive, Hello Fresh, Great Bear, Arrival, Warburton’s Bakery, Williams Engineering and on the old famous Alcan Aluminium Works site on the Southam Road (Amazon, Arrival and The Entertainer etc.) and new industrial units for Karcher at Brookhill Way and Magenta self-storage operators at Junction 11 of the M40 and opposite Wildmere Road.

DHL have their specialist Pharmaceutical Hub also based in Banbury Oxfordshire just off Junction 11.

Frontier Point, another new occupier warehousing development set on 30 acres to the east of the M40 Motorway at Junction 11, comprises three new large Logistics buildings with further development planned in this location with a possible 1.1 million sq ft on a further 100 acres. View our available properties in Banbury.

A major additional phase of the Town Centre’s shopping development Castle Quay which is now complete, and providing a new Premier Inn, Lidl and The Light Cinema which includes a bowling centre and additional retailing accommodation and situated close to Banbury’s main High Street. The scheme was purchased by Cherwell District Council in 2019 who will be moving their HQ to the Town Centre and Castle Quay.

Other major residential led schemes underway include the Longford Park development, now mostly complete, and situated on the south eastern outskirts of the town, Salt Way and further substantial housing developments to the north of Banbury (off the Southam Road and Warwick Road) and south west (off the Bloxham Road).

Further detailed information on the proposed consideration for the expansion of Cherwell District and Banbury is detailed in the following information produced in 2020 for the new Cherwell Local Plan 2040 for the adoption of the current Cherwell Local Plan.

Banbury has a catchment population of over 228,000 people. Linked to limited competition in the area, spend potential obtained from this catchment for ‘Total Retail Goods’ is very high at £185 million (2021). Banbury is the dominant centre within its catchment area, obtaining the highest market share within both the Core and

total catchment. Household expenditure within Banbury’s catchment exceeds the national average across all product categories, demonstrating the catchment population’s affluence. This presents a significant opportunity for prospective occupiers to capitalise upon high levels of expenditure.

Banbury’s catchment is dominated by two of the most affluent Acorn demographic groups, Executive Wealth and Mature Money, both notably over represented compared to the UK and South East profiles. These groups are more likely to shop independent brands and have strong ethical values around supporting their local high street.

The restructuring of the retail environment in the past few years is a reflection of changing consumer behaviour and influence; growing economic inequality; declining consumer trust in corporations; worsening personal financial conditions and less disposable income; the huge investment into retailing businesses by non-retailing organisations and the huge expansion of many major retail businesses based on money lent from the financial sector looking for dividend and returns which were in many cases was not forthcoming.

Harvey White commented “Demand for retail space and people carrying out a commercial property search for shops for sale has generally been from newer/less established retailer, reactive to the local markets and employing a multi-channel ‘bricks and mortar’ backed by a strong internet platform. Larger national retailing organisations have been less agile; some laden with debt and their borrowing costs, and some unable to react to the new retail environment and customer demand.”

We are currently experiencing demand in Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16, for office accommodation mainly due to Banbury’s M40 location and where office property costs are significantly less than in Oxford Leamington or Birmingham.

Excellent road and rail communications between the two major UK Cities (Oxford and London) via the London to Birmingham M40 Motorway and the Chiltern National Rail Line provide ease of access to the regions.

Occupational demand for Offices in Banbury, Oxfordshire, driven by the experiences of the Covid Pandemic, have culminated in home and hybrid working patterns which continues to impact on both the demand and design of offices which many companies have implemented and continue to embrace.

We have noticed an increase in the demand for flexible serviced offices including hot-desk spaces where employees can work on an ad-hoc basis or in larger suites which are designated for specific companies. Shared meeting rooms and café/social areas also allow for networking etc. Cost control is another factor as shared spaces as opposed to more generic leases which are usually contracted over many years including rent, rates insurance and latent lease costs including repairs redecorations etc has also seen a number of companies adopt the flexible served office route. White Commercial are currently marketing a number of serviced office suites in and close to Banbury and a number of smaller office suites continue to be popular, like the Somerville Court development at Banbury Business Park just outside of Banbury.

White Commercial Chartered Surveyors are responsible for over 90% of the available office accommodation in the Oxfordshire OX16 region and provide a comprehensive commercial property marketplace with commercial property, including offices retail industrial development land and Investments for lease and for sale in Banbury and advice for tenants and occupiers.