DSV UK Ltd is investing £3.7 million in new offices, a seed processing unit and a plant breeding station at its site in Wardington.

Midlands firm Deeley Construction, which is celebrating its 90th year, has started work on the new facilities and the scheme is due to complete in summer 2027.

DSV, headquartered in Germany, has been established in the UK for over 40 years with a track record of providing the best seed for many staple agricultural crops including oilseed rape, grasses, winter wheat, barley, maize, cover crops, lupins and linseed.

DSV's station at Wardington is used solely for plant breeding, with the site developing new varieties of wheat and other crops to benefit farming in the UK.

The development includes a detached office building and three agricultural buildings, which will bring its seed processing and breeding equipment together on one site.

The buildings will be laid out to follow the flow of work from early breeding through to the bags of seed that go out to farms, improving the efficiency of DSV's operation in Oxfordshire.

The first will handle small seed lots, where seed is cleaned, treated and analysed, including testing for bread-making quality.

The second will handle larger lots of between one and ten tonnes at a later stage in the breeding process, with bigger scale cleaning and treatment to prepare seed for market, while the third will house bespoke breeding equipment.

Dr Alexander Doering, Managing Director at DSV United Kingdom, said: "Crops need upgrading and improving all the time.

"Our job is to produce varieties that can genetically fight diseases and other threats, need fewer chemicals and ultimately provide better yields to feed a growing population.

"Consumer trends are changing too, so as well as wheat for traditional loaves we are developing varieties that are better for pastries or flatbreads.

"This new station will make our wheat breeding more efficient. It will also allow us to expand what we do here as our varieties become more successful.

"This development is the biggest project in the DSV Group this year. We are committed to staying in this area as we need to be close to our trials and to the farmers we work with, many of our staff also live nearby and this is perfect location to continue developing the business in the UK."

Steve Turner, Construction Director at Deeley Construction, said: "We have a lot of experience delivering developments in communities across the Midlands, and we're pleased to be supporting an innovative business like DSV, whose work developing new crop varieties will have a long term positive impact on UK farming and the wider economy."