We are a trusted partner, serving our clients & communities, and anticipating their future needs

Our Story

In the heart of Oxford, a city known for its history, innovation, and world-class institutions, two companies saw an opportunity to do something different. Something better.

ODS has long been a trusted name in delivering high-quality services across Oxford, encompassing construction, highways, civil engineering, waste management, and environmental operations. With deep roots in the community, a commitment to the public good, and unmatched local knowledge, ODS has already partnered with over 1,400 businesses. However, ODS recognised that its customers required greater integration, more support, and greater strategic value from their service providers.

At the same time, Q3 Services, a facilities management company with a proven track record of delivering cleaning, security, mechanical and electrical (M&E), and other essential facilities management (FM) services, sought a way to bring its excellence into a broader, more integrated offering. They knew traditional FM has been evolving - clients don’t just want service providers anymore, they want estate partners who can think long-term and deliver holistically.

The meeting point was clear:

Both companies share a commitment to quality, sustainability, and doing good, not just making a profit (in fact, all ODS’s profit is reinvested in Oxford). And both recognised that the most incredible opportunity wasn’t in competing with national players, but in doing something truly local and deeply strategic - offering a Total Estate Solution tailored for Oxford.

Creating oxfordworkplace: Where Infrastructure Meets Facilities Management

From that vision, oxfordworkplace was born - a partnership where:

ODS brings its unrivalled capabilities in infrastructure: from road maintenance to EV installations, from civil engineering to construction projects. In addition, ODS provides peerless support services, including waste management, pest control, landscaping and fleet management.
Q3 Services delivers industry-leading FM services: cleaning, security, M&E, and workplace support.

Together, we offer something rare in the UK market:

A single, integrated team that can design, build, manage, and maintain every part of a client’s estate—from the first brick to daily cleaning and compliance.

Whether it's a business park, a university campus, or a local authority estate, oxfordworkplace can manage it all: roads, waste, green spaces, buildings, and the people who work and visit them—with one contract, one relationship, and one vision.

Built for Oxford, Powered by Collaboration

oxfordworkplace is more than just a business idea. It’s a reflection of how public-private collaborations should work:

Public control and value, maximising private sector innovation.
Profits returned to Oxford City Council, reinvested into local services.
A commitment to social value: local employment, sustainability, and smarter estate relationship management.

At its core, oxfordworkplace is about thinking differently:

About estates not as a set of services, but as a living, evolving environment.
About clients not as customers, but as partners with long-term goals.
About Oxford, not just as a market, but as a place worth serving better

Our Values in Action

At oxfordworkplace, sustainability and social value aren’t aspirations; they’re outcomes.

By combining ODS’s public purpose with Q3’s commercial innovation, we create measurable impact for Oxford’s people, places, and planet.

Our approach is guided by three connected values: Community, Environment, and Partnership.

Community - Profit for Purpose

Our ethos is simple: profit for purpose, returning value to the people of Oxford while building a fair, inclusive, and future-ready workforce. Each contract strengthens Oxfordshire, creating local jobs, supporting apprenticeships, and keeping value circulating in the regional economy.

We pay the Oxford Living Wage, invest in IWFM training, and support wellbeing through Q3’s Daisy portal. We also grow our own talent.

ODS’s impact across the city is visible: maintaining 1,400 streets, refurbishing homes, and serving 60,000 households through waste and recycling. Since 2018, £40 million has been returned to Oxford City Council, alongside 15 apprenticeships and 200 volunteering hours each year.

Through Q3’s partnership with the Turin Trust, refurbished IT equipment is donated to developing nations – extending Oxford’s social value globally.

Highlights

£65.6 m total GVA (2023/24), £43.6 m retained in Oxford
£40 m returned to Oxford City Council since 2018
15 apprenticeships (73 % under 21)
Refurbished homes improving local living standards

Environment - Turning Ambition into Action

Sustainability is central to how we work. We co-design plans that cut carbon, reduce waste, and promote a circular economy, supporting Oxford’s pathway to Net Zero by 2050.

ODS leads by example: trialling one of the UK’s first electric refuse vehicles and installing 32 chargers under the Energy Superhub Oxford project. Its award-winning Zero Waste initiative and solar depots, now generating 20 % of energy on-site, show progress in practice.

Through oxfordworkplace, clients access technical teams who set sustainability objectives aligned with PAS 2080, CIBSE TM65, and ISSB S2, supported by Q3’s virtual helpdesk that connects engineers and clients in real time.

Highlights

270,000 tonnes recycled in 2024
20 % of depot energy is solar-generated
Electric fleet expansion under Energy Superhub Oxford

Partnership - Built on Trust, Measured by Value

Partnership defines everything we do - connecting clients, colleagues, and suppliers through collaboration and transparency. Together, ODS and Q3 blend public accountability with private innovation to deliver long-term value.

We spent £35.3 million with UK businesses in 2023/24, more than half of which was within Oxfordshire, supporting SMEs and social enterprises to grow sustainably and keep investment local.

Highlights