A Goliath-sized US investment manager has staked a claim with innovative house-builder gs8 on 122 acres of housing land near Basildon, smack-bang on big British builder’s territory. TPG Angelo Gordon last week closed a planning-contingent deal with Aberdeen to buy the land at Bowers Gifford via gs8, a small but go-ahead developer from Hampstead, which TPG controls. The plan is to build 500-1,000 larch-clad “planet-positive” homes with zero energy bills. It’s a bold £300m incursion on to old-model terrain by a new-age developer.
Last week a few locals were granted a vision. Sir Ebenezer Howard would applaud Josh Gordon, 39, and Ben Spencer, 35, who founded gs8 in 2014. The founder of the garden city movement put people at the centre of his circular “three magnets” diagram which showed what would draw people to Letchworth. The people of Basildon were shown a “doughnut” with “sustainability” marking the outer ring, “safe space for humanity” on the inner ring, while the merits of “peace, justice and equality” filled the centre.
Housebuilder Croudace was due to hold a public consultation on Wednesday, promoting its vision for 1,800 homes on nearby land. The March consultation boards emphasised the £368m construction value; the 392 jobs; the £3.6m in council tax revenue. Little to nourish a councillor’s soul.
The question that may occupy the $73bn Park Avenue financiers who took control of gs8 last June is this: Will our “planet-positive” homes sell for a bit more, or go a bit faster than traditional brick boxes?
Gordon says he is not counting on it. “This is the future of housebuilding. The biggest premium to us is that we believe it allows ‘better’ planning consents and more appealing sites to buyers and the collaboration with both the communities and local authorities, subsequently increasing saleability. We certainly don’t factor in any premium when buying the land.”
OK, but can gs8 upscale?
Last spring, TPG took control of Harper Crewe, led by Bloor family member Adrian Bloor. Mike Diana at TPG said the deal was “underpinned by our belief that this is a highly scalable business”. The gs8 pipeline sits close to 2,000 homes: 113 “zero bills” homes are soon launching in Epping Forest in what Gordon says is a world first. The Crown Estate has commissioned a 50-home gs8 project near Bedford.
In case you are wondering. The g is for Gordon, the s for Spencer: The 8? Well, that was simply chosen as a lucky number. We will see.
Peter Bill is a former editor of Estates Gazette
Image © Colin Miller
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