46 Woodstock Road,
Oxford, OX2 6HT
MAR 20, 2026
Oxford City Council approves plans for life sciences, innovation and technology space at site of former Debenhams in Oxford
20th March 2026 – The Crown Estate’s plans to transform the former Debenhams in Oxford city centre, located at 1-12 Magdalen Street, into a new 100,000 sq ft home for science, innovation and technology businesses was given the green light yesterday. Work is now due to start on-site in the first half of 2027, with a targeted completion in 2029.
1-12 Magdalen Street is being developed as part of The Crown Estate’s partnership with leading science and innovation developer, Pioneer Group, and renowned venture builder, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE). Alongside a range of labs, the building will also feature dedicated conference and events space, including a ‘Showcase Lab’ in the heart of the development for OSE companies to make science and innovation more visible and accessible to younger audiences.
The partnership is also today announcing the development of a STEM outreach programme for these younger audiences, working alongside Oxford City Council to host local school groups at the ‘Showcase Lab’ and help to foster their interests in future science careers.
Kristy Lansdown, Managing Director for Development at The Crown Estate, said: “1-12 Magdalen Street will deliver world class science facilities in the heart of the city – a place with not only a rich cultural history, but one that is entrenched in the history of science and progress. Alongside our outstanding partners at Pioneer Group and OSE, we are committed to creating a best-in-class lab space for innovative start-ups and scale-ups that will strengthen Oxford’s appeal to the wider sector and contribute meaningfully to economic growth.”
Harry Pickering, Portfolio Director & Head of UK Real Estate, Pioneer Group, said: “Securing planning permission for 1–12 Magdalen Street is a significant milestone in transforming a prominent Oxford city centre site into a new home for science and innovation. Together with The Crown Estate and Oxford Science Enterprises, we are creating high-quality laboratory space that will support the next generation of breakthrough companies and strengthen Oxford’s position as one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems.”
Pete Wilder, Head of Property & Operations, Oxford Science Enterprises, said: “Oxford is one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems, and with that success comes growing demand for high-quality laboratory space in central, well-connected locations. Together with The Crown Estate and Pioneer Group, we are creating a development that will provide world-class facilities in the heart of the city, enabling science and technology companies to scale while remaining embedded in the city’s unique academic and entrepreneurial network.”
The development of 1-12 Magdalen Street represents an initial investment of c.£125 million from The Crown Estate and is part of the organisation’s commitment to invest £1.5 billion into the science, innovation and technology sectors over the next 15 years.
Perkins & Will has been appointed as Architect for the development, with Bidwells acting as Project Manager.
About The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate has a diverse £15bn portfolio that includes urban centres and development opportunities; one of the largest rural holdings in the country; Regent Street and St James’s in London’s West End; and Windsor Great Park. We also manage the seabed and much of the coastline around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, playing a major role in the UK’s world leading offshore wind sector.
We are a unique business established by an Act of Parliament, tasked with growing the value of the portfolio for the nation and returning all of our net profit to HM Treasury for the benefit of public spending. This has totalled £5bn over the last ten years.
Through our activities and investments, The Crown Estate creates environmental, social and financial value both for now and into the long term. This includes:
About Pioneer Group
All press enquiries or for more information, please contact: press@thepioneergroup.com.
Pioneer Group’s mission is to help life sciences and high-tech businesses thrive in tackling human and planetary health challenges. Across the UK and Ireland, Pioneer leads the way in integrating the provision of mission-critical real estate, venture building and venture investment. Since 2003, its connected cluster model has provided powerful sector-specific, business-focused ecosystems in which businesses are more likely to succeed.
Real Estate
As a leading developer and operator of life science and high-tech campuses, Pioneer Group manages over £1 billion of real estate (over 4 million square feet) in 12 leading innovation locations across the UK and Ireland. Pioneer’s campuses offer a range of flexible, specialist laboratories, industrial and office space to support scientists, technologists, engineers and entrepreneurs on every step of the innovation journey from R&D to manufacturing. Pioneer’s campuses are home to organisations ranging from start-up to multi-national.
Venture Building and Venture Investment
Pioneer Group delivers the most comprehensive suite of accelerator and venture building activity across the UK and Ireland, helping founders to transfer cutting-edge discovery into visionary ventures that scale. Pioneer’s in-house team supports start-ups and scale-ups while partnering with organisations such as Innovate UK, AbbVie, Novo Nordisk, the Health Innovation Networks and many of the UK’s strongest universities.
Pioneer also backs game-changing, early-stage life science companies with investment from its venture capital funds, alongside ongoing mentoring and assistance. The focus is on funding the most promising companies graduating from Pioneer’s venture building programmes and/or based at its campuses. To date, Pioneer Group has supported 240 companies, of which 136 have raised £344m.
Ecosystem
Pioneer Group has curated a trusted community of 1000+ experts, mentors, venture partners, corporates, clients and Accelerator alumni, operating in the most exciting areas of life sciences and high-tech innovation.
Pioneer supports companies with access to capital, mentoring, finding customers, hiring talent, choosing the right infrastructure, and much more. It leverages cross-sector collaboration through a wide-ranging events programme, a dedicated online networking platform, and personal introductions to key contacts within the wider collective.
About Oxford Science Enterprises
Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) is an independent, billion-pound investment company that finds, funds and builds transformational science and technology companies emerging from Oxford’s world-leading research. Our portfolio of companies is focused across three high-impact sectors – Deep Tech, Life Sciences, and HealthTech – with the ambition of tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. To date, OSE has collaborated with over 300 international investors, collectively investing over £3 billion in more than 100 groundbreaking companies.