UK-based gene and cell therapy group Oxford Biomedica has sold its Windrush Court facility in Oxford to Kadans Science Partner for £60 mln (€68 mln).
The sale proceeds exceed the target figure of £55 mln (€63 mln) for the property whose current net book value is around £7.9 mln (€9 mln).
The 7,000 m2 Windrush Court building consists of state-of-the-art laboratories as well as extensive office space, housing the company’s analytical services and process research & development departments.
The 15-years sale & leaseback operation foresees that Oxford Biomedica will pay Kadans a rent of £3.5 mln (€4 mln)/year, rising to £4.7 mln (€5.3 mln)/year after five years, with a market rent review at 10 years.
Stuart Paynter, CFO of Oxford Biomedica, commented: ‘We are pleased to have exchanged contracts for the sale and leaseback of our state-of-the-art Windrush Court facility and look forward to building a relationship with Kadans, the European leader in the development and management of life sciences buildings and ecosystems. The proceeds of the transaction will enhance our net cash position, providing us with additional financial flexibility as we build our leadership as an innovation-led CDMO across all viral vectors for cell and gene therapy.’
James Sheppard, managing director (UK & Ireland) of Kadans, added: ‘We are delighted to secure this tremendously important asset in the Oxford ecosystem. Oxford Biomedica is one of the world’s leading companies in cell and gene therapy, an area of deep specialism for Kadans, and we look forward to building a relationship with the team.’
Oxford BioMedica acquired the freehold of the Windrush Court office and lab facilities in October 2014 for £3.2 mln (€3.6 mln) from Oxford Real Estate Owner No. 2.
