The southeast division of Linden Homes, the housebuilding division of Galliford Try, currently has 30% of its sales in London and 70% across the Home Counties. It now plans to change this split to 50:50.
Targeting a wide range of buyers across the capital, property prices will range from £300,000 to £500,000. The new schemes include George Row and Grange Road in Bermondsey, The Regent in Battersea, and other developments across London, Orpington and Teddington.
“There’s always been a gap in the market for us to move into London,” said Steve Bangs, Linden Homes South East managing director. “It’s not ever been a question of if, but when – the timing needed to be right for us to gain greater exposure in the London market.
“We’re finding that London buyers are keen on the idea of buying properties off-plan, so this is where we anticipate making a lot of sales. We are also expecting strong sales from the overseas market, which views London as a safe haven for investment security with good schooling proving to be another major attraction.”
Linden Homes has recruited a team of London property experts to ease its path into London’s property market.
Mr Bangs added: “There are a number of factors which are boosting the London property market, including a wider rise in house prices than elsewhere in the country, large-scale regeneration of East London ahead of the Olympics and an improved travel network with the forthcoming Crossrail network set to boost development in areas where there are stations.
“The group is in a strong financial position, so the move makes sense. In the future, we’re likely to move closer into central London and build in more prime locations – we’re already on the look-out for these.
“The interest we’ve had about our upcoming developments has been very promising in terms of the enquiries we’ve received, even in the quieter summer months. We’re all very excited about the move, confident of success, and can’t wait for the new schemes to launch.”
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