Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of industry-relevant headlines from the nationals, all perfectly curated to set you up for the week ahead.
Fresh from securing £100m of funding from Nuveen, later living developer Preferred Homes has set its sights on growing the business five-fold over the next four to seven years. The group, which has a pipeline of eight extra care housing developments that will be funded with the Nuveen capital, has revealed its ambitious to grow to 50 schemes across the UK.
“We have ambitions to become a market leader in the sector delivering 50 schemes over the next four to seven years,” Stephen Sorrell, social partnership director, told EG. “We’re also in a strong position for growth. We have significant long-term capital from institutional funding with presently no reliance on debt financing.”
In the retail world, a long vacant former BHS in Tunbridge Wells in Kent has finally got a new tenant. The council has secured Primark for the unit, which forms part of the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre the council snapped up from British Land for £8.5m last October.
The letting is part of an intensive asset management project on the 320,000 sq ft, in a bid to turnaround its fortunes and bring investment and activity back to the town.
Could Primark be among the retailers snapping up empty Carpetright stores? So far Bensons for Beds has taken on 19 of the 239 vacant units and following a return to profit, outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse has also said its keen to take on a number of the stores. It has a target of adding 50 new or relocated stores to its 330-strong portfolio this year.
In Singapore, the life sciences sector is just as hot as it is in the UK, with developer Ho Bee Land this morning announcing a joint venture deal with a sovereign wealth fund to buy a 49% stake in its 445,300 sq ft Elementum building. The deal values the property at around £330m and, said Ho Bee Land, gives the pair the ability to explore new opportunities for growth in the booming sector.
And while the August slowdown now seems to be biting a little, EG’s news agenda still has a host of potential real estate stories you might want to mark in your diaries. Check it out if you want to be ahead of the competition, and if you’d like to make sure your news makes it on to the agenda, drop the team a line at newsdesk@eg.co.uk
All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:
EG’s news agenda: What to look out for this week
Data centre market to top $317bn by 2026, says JLL
Sovereign wealth buys half stake in major life sciences hub
Mountain Warehouse eyes empty Carpetright stores for expansion
RivingtonHark bags Primark for former BHS
Preferred Homes plans massive portfolio expansion
Final phase of Dublin Waterfront plan submitted
Occupier view: Buro Happold on consolidating its London HQ
South Kilburn homes get green light
COMMENT: New building control regime puts mixed-use schemes at risk
Landowners face compulsory knockdown prices for green belt sites (£)
Business rates put 17,000 shops at risk of closing, Labour warned (£)
Rhubarb adds The Brewery to its menu of venues (£)
Labour’s housing drive ‘like watching a nightmare car crash’, councils warn (£)
We wanted to bring our village to life, so we bought the pub (£)
Reform UK’s Richard Tice piled millions into offshore tax haven property empire
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