The Guinness Partnership has acquired Meyer Homes’ 950-home scheme in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, for in excess of the £70m asking price.
The Hook Rise South development on Kingston Road, in Tolworth, has consent for 665 private homes and 285 affordable homes in towers of up to 10 storeys. It is to be the largest regeneration in the borough for more than 50 years.
The scheme includes a new public realm area known as Tolworth Square and amenities including play areas, a convenience store, a community facility, a GP surgery and a nursery.
Development has been a long time in the making. The 11-acre site of the former government offices has been vacant for almost 20 years, with Kingston Council rejecting a series of planning applications from various parties.
Tesco tried and failed to get plans for 662 homes and a supermarket approved in 2007. It went back again with a slightly less ambitious scheme a year later and even tried for a hotel via its regeneration arm Spenhill in 2012.
Meyer Homes acquired the development in 2015, as part of the 14-site Tesco portfolio and has worked with architect JTP to bring forward a significantly denser scheme. The developer was initially refused an application for 705 homes in high-rise towers of up to 18 storeys, due to the scale and impact on highways.
It was eventually approved last year, when Meyer dropped the height and bulked out the smaller buildings, boosting the number of homes to 950. The development is to be delivered over six phases. Phase one comprises 211 private flats, the nursery and community centre.
The Guinness Partnership is one of the largest providers of affordable housing and care in the UK, managing 66,000 homes and providing services to 140,000 people.
Established in 2015, Meyer has a pipeline of around 3,000 homes across 14 sites. Shareholders include Meyer Bergman, the privately held specialist real estate management firm, AIMCo, one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers, and Vanke, China’s largest real estate developer.
The Guinness Partnership was advised by JLL. Meyer Homes was advised by Savills.
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