Our Lady’s Abingdon, in Radley Road, was forced to close permanently for financial reasons, according to its governors, who sent letters to parents in August alerting them to the news.

The Statement of Affairs submitted to Companies House revealed Our Lady’s Abingdon Trustees Ltd racked up debts of £1,555,596 owed to 121 company creditors.

READ MORE: Closed UK private school sells off equipment

Security measures were put in place to protect the buildings and the owners, the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy. were understood to be discussing the sale of the buildings and the site.

Now it is being marketed for sale by commercial real estate company Newmark, with the sale price “subject to offer”.

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

Newmark says there is an “opportunity to acquire the freehold interest of a former school in a sought-after location with potential for redevelopment, subject to planning permission.”

Highlights, according to the sale prospectus, include the opportunity to acquire a former school and associated land (Use Class F1) with potential for redevelopment; extensive and attractive grounds and playing fields; combined total Gross Internal Area (GIA) of approximately 105,710 sq ft (9,817 sqm); ite area of c. 9.10 acres including a separate playing field and drop-off/parking of 5.6 acres; freehold offered with vacant possession.

The Newmark online sales page adds that the site is located in an affluent, sought after location with strong demand for independent schools.

It says: “Potential for alternative uses including redevelopment for residential, care, retirement or retail subject to the necessary consents.”

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

At the end of last year, a team of liquidators hired auctioneers Wyles Hardy to sell school equipment including the school’s fleet of minibuses.

A statement from Wyles Hardy said earlier: “Following sustained financial pressures and the recent introduction of VAT on school fees pupil numbers declined significantly, leading to the school’s closure in August 2025.

“Acting on behalf of the appointed insolvency practitioners we delivered specialist valuation, marketing and asset disposal services as part of the process.

“Our instruction covered a broad and diverse asset base across multiple departments, including design and technology, domestic science and music, as well as plant and machinery, grounds care equipment and the school’s fleet of minibuses.”

A spokesperson for the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy said in March: “Over the last six months, following the handover of the site from the liquidator, we have been working diligently to both clear and secure the Our Lady’s Abingdon site, as well as reflect on how best the site can be used moving forward.

“Meetings are ongoing about the site’s future, taking into account our obligations as a charity, and we are hopeful to be in a position to share more information in the early part of the summer.”  

Following the closure announcement, schools across the county rallied to find places for more than 300 pupils.

Some pupils switched to schools in Abingdon while others are now attending schools in other parts of Oxfordshire.

In November, Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran wrote to education secretary Bridget Phillipson, urging the Department for Education to do more to protect families affected by sudden school closures.

Ms Moran said at the time: “Going forwards, there must be earlier dialogue between the local authorities and schools to ensure that pupils and parents’ interests are the number one priority.

The Institute of Our Lady of Mercy has been asked for further comment.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Ecommpay has been named a finalist in the 2026 eCommerce Awards for Best eCommerce Payment Solution. The shortlist recognises its Currency Choice and Try Again payment features.

The two features were selected in a category highlighting payment tools used in online retail. Launched in 2007, the awards programme focuses on initiatives and products in eCommerce.

Currency Choice allows merchants using Ecommpay’s platform to show customers a choice of currencies on the payment page. Shoppers can then complete purchases in their preferred currency rather than a merchant’s default base currency.

Try Again is designed for transactions where an initial payment attempt fails. It allows customers to retry the payment or choose another payment method within the same transaction instead of restarting the checkout process.

The shortlisting reflects a continued focus among payment providers on reducing friction at checkout, particularly for merchants selling across borders. Failed transactions and currency mismatch remain common causes of basket abandonment in online retail, especially when consumers are presented with unfamiliar payment options or unexpected conversion choices.

Ecommpay says its platform offers more than 100 alternative payment methods through a single integration. It positions that model as a way for merchants to support international expansion without adding multiple payment partners.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, the payments company provides acquiring, payment processing and orchestration services. It also offers open banking, recurring billing and direct debits through the same platform.

Checkout focus

For merchants operating in several markets, the payment page has become an increasingly important point of conversion. Providers have added tools to address local preferences, repeat failed authorisations and create a clearer path through checkout in an effort to reduce lost sales.

Currency display is one of those areas. Consumers are often more likely to complete a purchase when they can see the amount they will be charged in a familiar denomination, while merchants seek to avoid confusion when settlement currency and display currency differ.

Retry tools have also grown in importance as online businesses try to recover sales that might otherwise be lost after a declined attempt. In practice, that can mean allowing a shopper to switch from one payment method to another without leaving the transaction flow.

Max Ryzhov, Chief Product Officer at Ecommpay, commented on the recognition and the role of the shortlisted tools. “These seemingly simple changes to the payment journey have helped reduce declines and prevented customers from abandoning checkout. We are delighted these innovations have been recognised in the eCommerce Awards programme. The shortlisting is testament to the expertise and dedication of our entire team, and confirms the importance of these developments in the journey to make payments inclusive and frictionless for every customer,” Ryzhov said.

Platform reach

Ecommpay describes itself as a global payments platform that aims to support merchants needing both local and cross-border payment acceptance. Its offering combines local and global acquiring with a range of payment methods accessed through a single application programming interface.

That approach reflects a broader trend in the payments sector, where merchants have sought to consolidate services previously handled by separate providers. Bringing payment processing, orchestration and additional payment options into one setup can reduce operational complexity for retailers, particularly those entering new markets.

Ecommpay also holds regulatory authorisation in the UK for payment services and is a principal member of both Mastercard and Visa. Its platform is certified to PCI DSS Level 1, a standard commonly used in the payments industry for card data security.

The Best eCommerce Payment Solution category places Ecommpay among providers competing on the customer checkout experience rather than back-end processing alone. In online retail, where small changes to payment flow can affect conversion rates, features that address failed payments and local currency choice have become central to how providers differentiate their services.

Ryzhov said the shortlisted developments had “helped reduce declines and prevented customers from abandoning checkout.”

The Wellcome Genome Campus has created a Science & Technology Advisory Group to help guide the scientific and technological direction of its expanding site.

Chaired by Dr Nicole Mather of IBM Consulting, the group includes representatives from Novartis, Genentech, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL-EBI, the Health Data Research Service and Wellcome, alongside campus leadership.

It has been asked to develop a strategy for what the campus describes as an AI-native district focused on omics, biodata and the use of AI in health and care translation. The group will advise on scientific priorities, emerging opportunities, infrastructure needs and the offer to incoming occupiers.

The move comes as the Wellcome Genome Campus undertakes a major expansion near Cambridge. The site is due to grow from 125 acres to 440 acres, with plans to support a community of 9,000 people or more and attract about 250 companies involved in research, translational development and other commercial activity.

Existing institutions on the campus include the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute, while the Health Data Research Service is also joining the site. Together, they give the campus an unusual concentration of genomics, biodata and health data organisations within the UK life sciences sector.

Members of the new group include Dr Andy Richards, Dr Avi Spier of Novartis, Professor Ewan Birney of EMBL-EBI, Dr John Marioni of Genentech Research and Early Development, Professor Matt Hurles of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Dr Melanie Ivarsson of the Health Data Research Service, Neelam Patel and Professor Rachel McKendry of Wellcome.

They are joined by Robert Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Wellcome Genome Campus, Phil Clark, Chair of Wellcome Genome Campus, and Robert Holl of the Wellcome Trust’s investment division.

Expansion plans

The expansion forms part of what the campus describes as one of the UK’s largest recent investments in life sciences and technology infrastructure. The first phase is under way and is expected to be completed by 2028.

Plans for the wider site include new research and translation laboratories, commercial space, incubator and accelerator facilities, homes and community amenities. The project also includes additional data centre computing capacity, energy infrastructure and public realm works.

The expansion reflects a broader push across the Cambridge cluster to add laboratory space and specialised facilities as demand grows from biotechnology, data science and healthcare companies. By bringing research institutes, commercial tenants and national data infrastructure together on one site, the campus is seeking to strengthen its role in that ecosystem.

The arrival of the Health Data Research Service adds another element to that model. It is intended to provide national health data infrastructure, linking the campus’s existing strength in genomics and biological data with clinical and patient outcome information.

Advisory role

The Science & Technology Advisory Group will meet regularly in an advisory capacity. Members will also act as ambassadors for the campus in the UK and overseas.

Its creation signals an effort to shape the scientific identity of the enlarged site before much of the physical build-out is complete. It also brings in senior figures from pharmaceutical companies, research organisations and health data bodies at a time when AI and data-led approaches are becoming more central to biomedical research and clinical development.

Robert Evans outlined the rationale for the new body in a statement on the expansion strategy.

“Our expansion is about creating the right conditions for our science and technology community to thrive. The Science & Technology Advisory Group is helping us to set a clear direction for our future, foster collaboration, commerciality, talent attraction and retention and ensure we continue to grow as a world-class destination,” said Evans.

Dr Mather said the campus had an opportunity to define how biological data and AI are brought together in health research and application.

“The Wellcome Genome Campus is uniquely positioned to shape the future of a key frontier field: how we combine omics, data and AI to transform health and care for people globally. The Science & Technology Advisory Group will create a strategy that builds on the Campus’ pedigree and strengths to grasp the many opportunities now emerging,” said Mather.