The sale of a new unit on an Oxfordshire industrial park is music to the ears of the developers. Shackell Pianos has purchased a 1,897 sq ft unit on the Nimrod development, in Witney, as a showcase for top-of-the-range grand pianos, leaving three units available on the popular business park.

The company, run by Jeffrey Shackell, specialises in buying and restoring Steinway grand pianos, and hiring them out for concerts.

The pianos — which can cost £50,000 new — feature at classical concerts throughout the Midlands, and have been played by a host of renowned artists, such as John Lill.

Shackell Pianos plans to fit out the space with a new showroom to display the high-calibre instruments, and a repair workshop, after moving from its old premises in the town’s Kingsfield Crescent.

“We are very busy at the moment and needed somewhere to expand the business from our current premises in Witney,” said Mr Shackell.

“Our range of grand pianos are in demand and we are one of the few specialists in the UK working at this level with knowledge of how to restore and maintain them.”

Repair and restoration work clients include major conservatoires, such as the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, concert halls, private schools and individuals, and some classical artist celebrities, including London-based concert pianist Noriko Ogawa.

Shackell Pianos also regularly supplies Steinways to the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, and to venues around the Midlands region, and beyond, inlcuding Wales.

Mr Shackell first learned his specialist trade as an apprentice technician and tuner in the Witney area in the mid-1970s, and then set up his own business.

He said: “Only a select handful of mega-stars take their own pianos on tour with them. When we hire out a concert instrument for a classical piano concert, it’s my job to attend and make sure the instruments are in tip-top condition for the artists.”

He added: “I bought Unit 8 on Nimrod because it was an opportunity to buy freehold, also, because it’s new, so I can design the interior myself to provide a modern and smart focus for potential clients.

“I hope to start the work in a few weeks time and move in early in 2010.”

The sale of Unit 8 means three of the 16 units remain for sale, or rent, on the £4m, 39,000 sq ft development, in De Havilland Way, Windrush Park. The three are Unit 11 (2,011 sq ft), Unit 13 (3,000 sq ft) and Unit 14 (3,000 sq ft).

o For more details, contact selling agent Tom Barton, at VSL Kidlington on 01865 848488.