Construction News quotes Francis Ho on John Lewis shelving its build-to-rent property plans
min readRetail brand John Lewis has announced it is shelving plans to build homes as part of a build-to-rent property business. The BTR venture, launched in 2020, was intended to build rental properties above existing Waitrose stores in West Ealing and Bromley, and on a former industrial site in Reading. The planned properties may eventually be built by other companies, with John Lewis saying it intends to sell the planning permissions on to other developers.
In addition to the planned properties, John Lewis manages almost 1000 BTR properties on behalf of Aberdeen Investment. This will continue until another party is found which can take over the contracts.
John Lewis cited inflationary pressures, higher interest rates and a more cautious market as the primary reasons for the decision.
Francis Ho, Partner in our Construction, Engineering and Projects team, comments in Construction News:
Like the wider development sector, [John Lewis] is contending with elevated construction costs, skills shortages, regulatory delays and a higher cost of capital. Borrowing conditions are easing, but viability remains tight for now.
Read the full article in Construction News here.
