Mace Construct is set to exit the £184m Daubeny Buildings laboratory project in Oxford, with the contractor due to complete its current phase of work by the end of this year before handing the project over to a new contractor.
Mace Construct was originally appointed by Oxford Science Park in 2024 and was subsequently brought back into the project by its new owner, the Ellison Institute of Technology, last year.
In February 2026, revised proposals prepared by architect Foster & Partners were submitted to Oxford City Council for approval.
The updated plans will create 62,000 sq m of laboratory space for the Generative Biology Institute and the Plant Biology Institute.
The revised scheme involves partially demolishing and extending upwards three laboratory buildings that are currently under construction. The buildings will then be connected through two new atriums to create a single research and development facility.
Planning documents said the changes were made because the three separate blocks “do not connect well, making collaboration harder and some laboratory space inefficient”.
A Mace Construct spokesperson said this week: “Following the completion of our phase of works at Daubeny, Mace Construct will hand over the next stages of the project to a new contractor. Over the past four years, our team has been proud to play a significant role in the successful delivery of key elements of this important development.
“Our focus now is on concluding our activities by the end of the year and ensuring a smooth transition. We wish the client and the incoming contractor every success with the next phase of delivery.”
The Ellison Institute of Technology said it had “agreed with Mace Construct that its role on Daubeny will conclude at the end of 2026, following completion of the current package of work”.
It added: “Mace Construct has supported important early stages of the development over the past four years, and we recognise and appreciate the contribution its team has made to the project. The Daubeny project will continue to progress as it moves into its next phase of delivery under a new contractor.”