EPISO, an opportunity fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners, in partnership with Addington Capital, have sold a mixed-use 4.5-acre site with consent for residential 447 units to Strawberry Star Homes for a price in excess of €17.6m (£15m). The site is alongside the joint venture partners’ Harvey Shopping Centre in Harlow.
Addington secured planning permission for the site, which was previously a shopping mall, to create a mixed-use regeneration scheme. The plans include four new standalone blocks, which provide 447 residential units and around 40,000ft² of retail space, together with below podium car parking. Above the podium, there are planned landscaped private amenity areas. London based property company Strawberry Star Group’s volume housebuilding division Strawberry Star Homes will build out the site which is expected to have a GDV of €285.8m (£244m).
Jeremy Bullock, Director at Tristan Capital Partners, said: “We saw a real potential to transform this part of the town which had long needed investment by creating nearly 450 new residential homes in an attractive setting. Addington and Tristan have been early movers in the repurposing of underperforming shopping centre space and with the shortage of quality housing in the area, we believe this will provide benefits to all.”
Martin Roberts, Principal of Addington Capital, said: “We were offered a good price for the site and wish Strawberry Star well in progressing the redevelopment. We will continue to intensively asset manage the rest of the shopping centre in the meantime.”
Addington and EPISO bought the Harvey Shopping Centre as part of a broader portfolio in 2011 and have been refurbishing and improving it since then. The Centre has benefitted with the opening of the Terrace in 2016 anchored by the 25,000ft² Cineworld and a number of new leading restaurant brands.
Santhosh Gowda, Chairman, Strawberry Star Group, said: “The Harlow site is an important investment for Strawberry Star, as it is the next step to realising our vision of delivering volume housing vision for Londoners, especially first-time buyers. This site is part of our long-term strategy to deliver 4,000 new homes by 2025. Massive regeneration in Harlow is driving local demand for quality housing. We intend to provide homes at prices which are achievable to home buyers, who have been priced out of London. The Harlow site is our second mixed-use development in the London commuter belt. Work on our first scheme LU2ON, will commence in May 2019, creating 785+ apartments in Luton. We will continue to work with local councils to contribute to their regeneration plans and address the housing shortage issue in the UK.”
The site is approximately 10-minutes’ walk from Harlow Town Station, which operates trains to London Liverpool Street station with an average journey time of 30 minutes. Harlow is an attractive option for home-movers from London and other expensive areas looking for family-friendly homes.
