A new residential developer made up of former directors at Barratt and Berkeley Homes has made a splash with the acquisition of two sites for a combined £121m, with capacity for around 1,500 homes.
The new property company, Avanton, is now on site at York Road, Wandsworth, SW11, where 300 homes are under construction on a former Homebase site (main picture). Avanton exchanged contracts on the site in February 2016 for £69.18m.
It also acquired another site in 2017 on Old Kent Road, SE15, for around £52m. An EIA application was submitted in January 2018 for the 1.38 ha site named locally as Ruby Triangle. In total, 1,200 homes are proposed with a number of towers ranging from 15, 25, 35 and 46 storeys in height.
Avanton is led by Omer Weinberger and Marc Pennick, and combines expertise spanning over 60 years from some of the UK’s largest firms. Weinberger, managing partner, has a background in private equity and founded Weinbergers Investments in 2013. Pennick is a former land director at Barratt West London and managing director of Fifth Capital London.
Avanton is funded by partnerships with UK financial institutions, and also by a consortium of private investors. The team includes, Peter Murphy, former development director at Barratt London and the Berkeley Group, and Kathryn McCombe, former group sales and marketing director at Berkeley Group.
Weinberger said: “Avanton aspires to do things differently. London is changing; it’s a competitive marketplace with a limited number of traditional development opportunities. A varied landscape calls for a company that can respond to the nuanced demands of London’s growing population. It is no longer enough for developers to just build homes, developments need to be mixed-use, offering commercial and retail opportunities, and incorporating usable public space in order to create viable new communities.
“We are deliberately a small team of directors, which enables Avanton to make swift decisions and seize opportunities that other developers may not. This more entrepreneurial approach will ensure we can build homes for Londoners that will be as well-loved in 20 years as they are the first day residents move in.”
Other recent entrants in the London residential development market include London Square and Anthology.
London Square were formed in 2010 by former employees of Barratt and has since gone on to grow a development pipeline worth more than £2bn.
Likewise, Anthology were formed in 2013 by former employees of Lend Lease, Linden Homes and United House, and is backed by Oaktree Capital.
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