UPDATE: Quintain will make a decision on a private rented sector partnership at Wembley after the first phase of 220 homes is completed at the end of next year.
The London investor and developer, which has sold its final interests at Greenwich Peninsula, said it had the capital base to bring forward three of seven consented blocks which in total will deliver 475 homes at the north-west London site.
It is planning to begin marketing of the scheme in Asia – primarily Hong Kong and Singapore – and London next month with construction to begin shortly afterward.
Chief executive Max James said: “We have around £200m of debt, which was part of the rationale for the disposal of Greenwich.
“At present we are looking to create that [private rented sector] product on our own – there is quite a bit of interest trying to get into this part of the market but it is quite a young market.
“After an 18-month build period – towards the back end of 2015 or early 2016 – when people start moving in, we will then see if we should bring in third-party capital.”
James added that Quintain is developing its pricing strategy for marketing the homes, which will be “affordable with a lower case a”.
He said the flats – a mixture of one and two-beds – will be around £300,000 rather than £700,000.
Quintain gained detailed consent for 475 homes across seven blocks arranged around an acre of private gardens from Brent council in December.
This represents just 10% of plans for 5,000 homes in total at the site, which is near its recently opened London Designer Outlet .
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
