Two local companies have moved into the Nimrod development in Witney with both occupiers deciding to buy rather than rent.

Complete Presentation, which supplies exhibition display and large format print solutions, has taken Unit 12 (3,016 sq ft), to relocate its main office and warehouse from the nearby Cotswold Business Park, while Unit 15, (2,753 sq ft) has gone to R&R, which supplies storage, multi-vendor and data-managed solutions to the IT service industry, manufacturers and end users.

Complete Presentation’s clients include Oxfordshire County Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, Virgin Media, BP, Sky, Oxford University Colleges and the Royal College of Surgeons — which uses panels it hires to build examination booths, where doctors can take their practical exams, in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.

The family-run business has seen profit margins increase year on year over the last decade.

The company directors are Craig Piper, who set it up in 1985, and his brother-in-law Ian Scammell. Ian’s wife Alison does the firm’s accounts, and there are three other employees.

Mr Scammell said the new unit would allow the company to expand considerably. ‘We are installing a mezzanine floor and, once that’s in, we’ll be going from premises of 1,800 sq ft to around 5,500 sq ft.

“Despite the slump, business has been very good, because companies are having to promote themselves more, and this new unit will allow us to expand even further.

“We decided to buy, because there are limitations on what we can do with our present rented premises, and also because the property will become an asset to the business and will allow us become even more efficient. We are moving in this month,” he added.

R&R will be relocating from its present base in nearby Station Lane, Witney, where the lease is ending.

Current occupiers on Nimrod — which has been developed by Abacus Developments — include BH Blackmore, Aston & James Office Supplies, Sign Language Ltd, Caffeica, White Brothers and RJ Miles. The four remaining industrial/warehouse units range from 1,897-3,969 sq ft, with three options available — freehold, leasehold, or, leasehold with an option to purchase.

The deals mean that just four of the 16 units now remain for sale, or rent, on the £4m 39,000 sq ft freehold development, in De Havilland Way, Windrush Park.

Tom Barton, of VSL’s Kidlington office, said: “Nimrod has been a very successful scheme, and these latest deals have seen it bucking the trend during the current poor state of the market.

“It also helps that it’s the first new industrial development to have been built in the area for several years.”

He added: “Oxfordshire is a very diverse area, with a diverse economy, and is holding up better compared to other regions at the moment.”