Welcome to Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is an international economic powerhouse, driving new technology, new markets and ground-breaking developments which supports every aspect of UK industry and commerce. The county is the future economic engine for Britain, helping businesses flourish, transferring technologies into industry and delivering the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Oxfordshire is the hub of Britain’s knowledge economy. It provides the technology, the development and the expertise which define much of the UK’s economic and commercial future.

Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership - Home

Latest updates:

Presi investment in Oxfordshire

Presi, a French-owned Metallography company, has chosen to invest in Oxfordshire, introduced by Invest in Oxfordshire, the county’s inward investment service. Presi Ltd was created to serve the UK based material analysis laboratories, supplying equipment, consumables, and advice. Having a presence in the UK is important to the company and they specifically chose Oxford due to the proximity with material universities, research labs, and the excellent north south traffic links for customers visiting their demo facility in Oxford. Presi Ltd are opening shortly at Orion House in East Point Business Park, Oxford.

Stephane Bonal, Director of Presi Ltd: ‘’I would like to thank the Invest in Oxfordshire service who were professional and efficient, understood our needs allowing us to find the right location from our first visit. They also provided additional advice such as providing recruitment contacts to display a vacancy. Personally, and based on long experiences visiting the UK, I would say Oxford is a nice city. I am glad to be here.”

For advice on relocating your business to Oxfordshire please use the Invest in Oxfordshire service, 01865 815539 or investinoxfordshire@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Latest news from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain

An Advance Notice of the forthcoming competition for funding under the Advanced Manufacturing Supply chain initiative has been published on the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) website.
 

The TSB Satellite Application Catapult

Local Enterprise Partnerships have a key role in shaping the focus of the catapult to meet the needs of SMEs in their area and encouraging engagement with the process. The Satellite Applications Catapult aims to drive economic growth both through the development of new commercial space activities (products and services) and productivity/efficiency gains in other market sectors. It will provide UK industry with the end-to-end infrastructure required to link together innovative ideas from existing space sector players and new collaborators from outside the sector.

The Project Team are now inviting registration of interest from organisations that would like to work with this centre by providing access to a capability that will contribute to the centre meeting its objectives, or would like to access its skills and assets once it is
established. In both cases, organisations should register their interest by accessing this website.

The Call for Registration of Interest document can be found on the TSB website.

Challenge to find the best new British innovations launched

More information on the competition to find the most innovative pre-market products, processes and concepts the UK has to offer can be found here: http://bis.gov.uk/makeitingreatbritain
 

Local Area Agreement Award grant

We are seeking expressions of interest to apply for funding for innovative approaches to running weekly drop-in sessions aimed at engaging, supporting and progressing unemployed individuals into sustainable jobs.

Closing date: Friday 9 March, 2012

Growing Places Fund - over £6m allocated to Oxfordshire

The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has been allocated £6,128,979 by the government through the Growing Places Fund. The fund is designed to boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new jobs and homes and get stalled projects moving again.

The Oxfordshire LEP will decide on how to spend the funding once its new governance arrangements are in place from 1 April 2012. It's first priority however will be to see how the Growing Places Fund could be used to lever in funds from other sources, thereby increasing the amount of funding available for important projects.

The focus for the funding is likely to be on projects that enhance employment opportunities in the Enterprise Partnership's three strategic areas: Bicester, Oxford city and Science Vale UK.

More details about the Oxfordshire Growing Places Fund, including the timetable for applications, will be posted in due course.

Oxfordshire successful in Enterprise Zone bid

The Government has named Oxfordshire's Science Vale area in the south-west of our county as one of eleven new Enterprise Zones across the UK. This is expected to bring in 8,400 high-tech, high-value-adding jobs and generate up to £10.5m of additional business rates a year. These funds can be directly reinvested into the Oxfordshire economy.

Maps of the SVUK area

Key programmes

The Partnership will support and champion nationally recognised areas for growth around:

Focus for growth

The Partnership will support and champion nationally recognised areas for growth around:

Economic development across Oxfordshire

The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a light-touch body that complements existing organisations and projects, rather than replacing them. There are many economic development activities that relate to the work of the Partnership, but which are not delivered by it. These include:

Business support networks, Oxfordshire County and District Councils also provide a number of facilities and services. Further details of these organisations can be found on our links page.

Bid to government

Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Bid submitted by the Partnership to government (pdf document, 4.6Mb)