DSV UK Ltd has begun a £3.7 million expansion of its plant breeding and seed processing facilities in Wardington, near Banbury, in a project intended to increase the efficiency and capacity of its crop research operations.
The development will include a new office building and three agricultural buildings at the company’s existing site. Construction is being carried out by Deeley Construction, a Midlands-based contractor, with completion scheduled for summer 2027.
DSV, which is headquartered in Germany, has operated in the UK for more than 40 years. Its work includes breeding varieties of wheat and other crops, as well as supplying seeds for oilseed rape, barley, maize, grasses, linseed, lupins and cover crops.
The Wardington site is dedicated to plant breeding, with research focused on developing crop varieties suited to the needs of UK agriculture. The new facilities will bring different stages of the breeding and seed preparation process together on one site.
One building will handle small batches of seed during the earlier stages of breeding, including cleaning, treatment and analysis. Testing will include assessing the suitability of wheat for bread-making.
A second building will process larger batches, ranging from one to 10 tonnes, as varieties progress towards commercial production. A third will house specialist equipment used in plant breeding.
The layout is designed to follow the process from early-stage breeding through to the preparation of seed for distribution to farms.
Dr Alexander Doering, managing director of DSV United Kingdom, said the investment would help the company develop crop varieties that can better withstand disease and other threats, require fewer chemicals and deliver improved yields.
The company is also responding to changing food preferences, he said, with wheat varieties being developed for different uses, including traditional bread, pastries and flatbreads.
Doering described the development as the largest project within the DSV Group during 2026, saying:
“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.”
The investment will allow DSV to expand its activities at Wardington as its varieties become more successful, he added.
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.”
The project is expected to be completed in summer 2027.
Image: Left to right: Jamie Travis (Deeley Construction); Sevil Lloyd-Thomas (Lloyd-Thomas Architects); Chelsea Smart, (Deeley Construction); Joshua Hendy (Deeley Construction); Roland Lloyd-Thomas (Lloyd-Thomas Architects); Dr Alexander Doering (DSV); Dr Matthew Kerton (DSV); Lee Keogh (Deeley Construction); Anne Goddard (Bridges Pound); Anthony Mackin (Deeley Construction); Steve Turner (Deeley Construction)
