Derwent London has a development pipeline big enough to last for the next 10 years and it won’t rule out future joint ventures, chief executive John Burns has said.
In a face-to-face interview with Estates Gazette, Burns said that the group, which has a property portfolio worth £2.9bn, was in a strong position for the foreseeable future. “We have a pipeline that stretches over 10 years, so we don’t need to do everything at once. As for partnering up, everyone always says we don’t do joint ventures. Well, we’d be delighted to [JV], as long as we can do it without stretching the business.”
He added that despite incorporating residential units into upcoming schemes, including the 1.5 million sq ft 80 Charlotte Street development in Fitzrovia set to kick off in Q3 2013, Derwent London won’t move into major residential development. But it will consider alternatives to office development. “We used to look down our nose at residential and now it looks down its nose at us,” Burns said. “I do believe we will see residential REITS in the future, residential is very interesting and we are incorporating it into some of our schemes. But I don’t think we’ll see Derwent with a high proportion of residential business.
“When alterative uses are of higher value than carrying out an office scheme, then we’ve got to do it.”
Burns said that he would be looking east of Shoreditch but no further north of Islington for future development opportunities.
For more, read the full interview with John Burns in this week’s Estates Gazette.
