A developer has snapped up five buildings in a multi-million pound deal which will transform an Oxford industrial park.

Frontier Estates paid £11m for the properties at Sandy Lane West which were formerly owned by Royal Mail, Nominet and Prudential and has now launched a £2m refurbishment programme.

The move is designed to turn the run-down estate into a site offering an alternative to both the Oxford Business Park and the Oxford Science Park.

Phase one of what will be called East Point Business Park has been completed with phase two ready by May and the site will be completed by January next year once Internet domain name registry Nominet completes its move to the Science Park.

Richard Venables, of Kidlington-based agents VSL & Partners, said: "The situation was that there were a bunch of tired buildings dating back to the late 1980s that required someone to come in and take control again.

"This development means almost 100,000 sq ft of office space is being brought back into circulation again.

"It is not pretending to be the Business Park or the Science Park, but this is an equally convenient location looking for a lower cost alternative."

A first letting has already been agreed with Linde Refrigeration which has moved from Oxford Business Park to the newly refurbished Meridian House.

Linde's existing lease at Oxford Business Park has been assigned to the to NHS Mental Healthcare Trust.

Mr Venables added that it was hoped current town centre employers looking to move to an accessible ring road location would be interested in moving to the site.

He said: "Supply of property in the city centre is exhausted and this fills the void for those people who don't want to pay premium prices."

Michael Mansell, director of Frontier Estates, added: "It is great to do a high profile deal like this in Oxford and we hope it will lead to more acquisitions in the county.

"Even though the location is first class, the buildings have suffered from a lack of coordinated management. We plan to refurbish them to a high standard which is what occupiers are now used to in the business parks around Oxford city centre."