The share of floorspace occupied by science and tech companies in Oxford and Cambridge has reached a historic high following a slump in 2023, according to new research.

Office take-up in the two cities totalled 335,000 sq ft in the first half of 2024, 17% higher than the first half of last year, property consultancy Bidwells has found.

This is despite many occupiers downsizing their office space after moving to hybrid working, a trend which Bidwells said had been “more than offset” by the growth in science and tech firms, including AI and data centres, which accounted for 94% of take-up in the two cities in the first six months of this year.

Although the firm found laboratory markets had been quieter, it expects an uptick in the second half of the year, partly due to falls in debt costs and interest rate cuts in the coming months which today saw the Bank of England make its first cut in base rates in more than four years from 5.25% to 5%.

It comes amid a string of major ongoing life sciences and tech developments in the region, including Scott Brownrigg’s £150m Oxford Science Park, being built by Mace, Fletcher Priest’s £700m Oxford North and Foster & Partners’ huge Ellison Institute of Transformative Medicine, both of which are being built by Laing O’Rourke.

Bidwells research partner Mark Callender said the outlook for investment in science and technology real estate in the Oxford Cambridge region is now “at a much better place than it has been over the last two years”.

The firm’s head of science and technology Max Bryan added that the Cambridge market was “at a turning point”.

“The improvement in global Venture Capital sentiment is being seen in greater levels of occupier interest which we expect to translate into strengthened take up in the second half of the year,” he added.

“The strength of Cambridge’s homegrown companies will remain crucial to the market’s long-term health, delivering a broad and deep occupier base.”

Oxford has seen a particularly notable recovery in its lab and tech market with £330m raised from investors so far in 2024, a 30% improvement on the second half of last year.

There is currently just under one million sq ft of space under construction in the city with a strong occupier market persuading developers to press ahead with schemes despite interest rate and material cost rises.

In Cambridge, Bidwells expects around 335,000 sq ft of office space and 385,000sq ft of lab completions in 2024 and 2025, adding around 6% to existing stock.