Galliard Homes has begun to insert “Brexit clauses” into its contracts to allow homebuyers to pull out of a deal if the UK votes to leave the European Union.
The developer, which is London’s second-largest housebuilder, said it was acting in response to a recorded 20% rise in investors concerned about the referendum in recent months.
David Galman, Galliard’s sales director, said: “We think this Brexit offer is key at present to maintain sales interest pre-referendum.”
One of the schemes for which the developer has offered a “Brexit-get-out-for-free” clause is its 90-unit starter home scheme in Slough.
Galman said there had been a “significant drop” in sales to overseas investors, and more than 90% of 1,800 reservations of interest for Galliard’s starter homes project in Slough were from UK-based buyers.
He said: “Continental Europeans and Asian buyers in particular have been concerned over the Brexit issue and are waiting for the results of the referendum before they doing any further investments or changes to their London real estate portfolios.
“It’s the £750,000 to £5m sector of the London resi market that’s a bit stalled at present owing to the impact of the tax changes and the uncertainty over Brexit.”
However, he said luxury or “unique” projects were still attracting demand from overseas investors. At its 412-unit scheme The Stage, EC2, which has historic links to Shakespeare, Galliard sold 86 flats off plan at the launch.
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