There was a record take up of industrial space in Oxfordshire last year.

Some 1.6million sq ft of space was occupied with 70% of it taken over by online retailers, according to Savills.

It comes after news that a record number of new businesses were set up in the county last year – in the midst of the pandemic.

Despite the economic challenges, 5,363 new companies were registered compared to 5,087 during 2019 – an increase of 5.4%.

Many of the new formations were in the retail sector, with a large number of new businesses set up to sell goods online or locally.

Bicester, Banbury and Abingdon saw the biggest increase in business space rentals followed by Didcot, Witney and Thame.

Two key transactions were the occupation of large spaces at Symmetry Park, Bicester, by parcel delivery firm DPD and online supermarket Ocado and another space at Central M40 near Banbury by logistics company Great Bear.

There was an increase in demand for modern units from technology and life sciences companies.

Electric vehicle developer Arrival moved in to Link 9 in Bicester and The Native Antigen Company took space at Oxford Technology Park.

New and soon to be completed schemes, such as Didcot Quarter and Westhall Estates at Thame, should also benefit from the high demand, said Savills.

Jan Losch, associate director in the business space team at Savills Oxford, commented: “The Oxfordshire region saw exceptional take-up in 2020, surpassing both last year’s figure and the long term average.

“In line with the rest of the UK, demand remains high from occupiers looking for good quality, modern accommodation and those who chose to build speculatively will benefit from favourable market dynamics.”