News

TfL aims to be London’s largest BTR landlord

News

Paul Wellman

18 June 2018

Residential, Retail

England, London

TfL’s development team has grown from around 30 to 90 people over the past 18 months, as the transport body gears up for its development drive.

Craig added: “TfL has come to understand that if you own 5,500 acres in London, you are not just a transport company, you are a property company.

“You need to have the people, the structures, the systems, processes and support in place that you might expect to see in large property company.”

Selling off land close to transport links has been likened by some to selling the family silver. But by selling some land – while also holding some through development partnerships, as well as building and operating sites itself – TfL will gain in the uplift and create a long-term revenue stream, rather than a short-term fillip, Craig said.

“A lot of our focus, initially, was on setting targets and hitting numbers – starts on site to deliver 10,000 homes by 2021, 50% affordable housing and £1bn in capital receipts to reinvest in the transport network,” he added. “We are ahead on all of those targets – but what next?

“TfL is also looking at combining its land with other adjoining land interests. The best example of this is in Morden, where we are working with the local authority, in order to pool our land interests. That will give us the ability to create a brand-new town centre.”

“Anyone can build 2,000 homes on the land they own. London is a whole variety of villages and towns. How do we energise that? We need high-quality placemaking and we need to think about wellbeing. How do we define what a town centre and retail will look like in the 2020s and beyond?”

TfL is also looking at a new tax for residents living within 1km of a Crossrail 2 station, in order to help fund the new line.

To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette

Transport for London is planning to become the largest build-to-rent landlord in London, according to Graeme Craig, TfL’s commercial development director, speaking at LREF last week on a panel session on “Unlocking Public Land”. TfL’s development team has grown from around 30 to 90 people over the past 18 months, as the transport body gears up for its development drive. Craig added: “TfL has come to understand that if you own 5,500 acres in London, you are not just a transport company, you are a property company. “You need to have the people, the structures, the systems, processes and support in place that you might expect to see in large property company.” Selling off land close to transport links has been likened by some to selling the family silver. But by selling some land – while also holding some through development partnerships, as well as building and operating sites itself – TfL will gain in the uplift and create a long-term revenue stream, rather than a short-term fillip, Craig said. “A lot of our focus, initially, was on setting targets and hitting numbers – starts on site to deliver 10,000 homes by 2021, 50% affordable housing and £1bn in capital receipts to reinvest in the transport network,” he added. “We are ahead on all of those targets – but what next? “TfL is also looking at combining its land with other adjoining land interests. The best example of this is in Morden, where we are working with the local authority, in order to pool our land interests. That will give us the ability to create a brand-new town centre.” “Anyone can build 2,000 homes on the land they own. London is a whole variety of villages and towns. How do we energise that? We need high-quality placemaking and we need to think about wellbeing. How do we define what a town centre and retail will look like in the 2020s and beyond?” TfL is also looking at a new tax for residents living within 1km of a Crossrail 2 station, in order to help fund the new line. To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette