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Aldar said it “intends to leverage its expertise and balance sheet to support London Square’s land acquisition strategy to enable it to develop larger and prime central London sites.”Aldar added: “By exporting its expertise to the UK market through the acquisition of an established and reputable operating platform, Aldar will gain a meaningful foothold in the diverse and dynamic London property market, known for its resilience and enduring appeal to both local and international investors.”

Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Aldar Properties said: “Our recently announced international expansion strategy centres on exploring opportunities to acquire or partner with established operating platforms in our target markets.

“The acquisition of London Square represents our first market entry outside of the region, and is a testament to the company’s management team, governance framework, and business model which has consistently delivered strong performance.

“The transaction, which is synergistic in nature, gives us the ability to leverage our mutual strengths, shared values, and common approach to homebuilding to scale London Square while bringing the best of Aldar to bear in the UK’s property market, as we continue to build our foothold outside of the region.”

Since its establishment in 2010, London Square has successfully created a development pipeline worth over £2bn and completed over 3,500 homes to date with a pipeline of 930 homes under construction worth £425m

Adam Lawrence, Founder and Chief Executive of London Square said: “This is an outstanding outcome for London Square. Aldar is an exemplary company with an unrivalled reputation and their strength and breadth of knowledge and experience will enable London Square to flourish and extend its presence across Greater London and the Southeast.

“Becoming part of Aldar is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the future of London Square. We look forward to playing a leading role in tackling the housing shortage by providing more much-needed homes in the capital and surrounding areas where there is a continuing lack of supply.”

The £220m Botanical House rental flats scheme will deliver nearly 450 homes – a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments at the Altyre Road site.

Botanical House will be the first residential building in Croydon to achieve the highest possible sustainability standards – including BREEAM ‘Outstanding rating, Fitwel3* certification and WiredScore Platinum.

With a retrofit first approach, the basement and ground floor slab of the original hotel building will be retained to save embodied carbon and minimise demolition and subsequent waste on site.

Construction at Botanical House will start in 2024, with the development scheduled to complete and open in 2027.

HTA Design is the architect for the tower and mansion block, which will have similar facades, while the crown of each building will have its own identity. Shelly & Counch is the M&E consultant for the project

The scheme will now go forward as a hybrid planning application next Summer with hopes that construction work will now start in 2026, a year later than originally planned.

The first phase of development will comprise over 1,000 homes, the first cultural and commercial buildings, and the park and vital east-west connections.

Much of the 40-acre site in Earls Court has been prepared for redevelopment

The developer is a joint venture between Delancey, Dutch pension fund manager APG and Transport for London, first formed to take forward the plan in December 2019.

Rob Heasman, CEO of ECDC, said: “Today marks one more step in our journey to create something truly incredible here at Earls Court.

“In 2021, we shared a new vision to bring the wonder back to Earls Court, to ensure our plans for the future create unforgettable experiences, as in the past.

“Our plans have progressed and benefitted from continued open dialogue”

60% of the site will be unbuilt, plans include a network of Exhibition Gardens, including The Table, a new urban park

“There is no other central London site like this; this is our chance to build sustainably and innovatively for the future, ensuring that Earls Court is a place to discover wonder for generations to come.”

Landsec has started the major refurbishment of Thirty High (formerly Portland House) in Victoria and the development of Timber Square in Southwark with a combined completion value of £504m.

And two consented office schemes could start next year at at Liberty of Southwark and Red Lion Court, SE1 worth £585m.

The improved outlook has also seen Landsec set provisional start dates for the first half of next year for its major mixed-used schemes in London and Manchester, with a combined development value approaching £2bn.

Landsec eyes start for Manchester Mayfield’s £400m first phase

Mark Allan, Chief Executive of Landsec, said: “Since early 2022, we have been clear that we expected interest rates to remain higher for longer and that asset values would have to adjust to this new reality, which they have.

“We were decisive in acting on this view by selling £1.4bn of single-let HQ offices, mostly in the City, at prices ahead of today’s values.

“Investment activity remains thin, but we expect this to pick up in 2024, which should start to support values for the best assets.

“We will continue to recycle capital where our ability to add further value is limited, but having been a net seller when prices were higher, we are well-placed to take advantage of opportunities that will no doubt arise as the new higher-for-longer reality is now more widely accepted.”

Allan revealed the business was preparing for work to start at its £1bn Finchley Road scheme in London and £800m Mayfield scheme in Manchester.

£1bn Finchley Road scheme to built on strip site next to existing O2 shopping centre

He said: “We continue to progress the preparation of our two most advanced projects, creating optionality for a potential start on site next year.

“At Mayfield, adjacent to Manchester’s main train station, we secured detailed planning consent for the first 330,000 sq ft of office development across two buildings in September. The expected investment for this is  £180m.

“We continue to work on enhancing our plans and expected returns, so subject to this, we could potentially start this first phase in the first half of 2024.

“At Finchley Road, in zone two London, where we secured a resolution to grant planning consent for our 1,800 homes masterplan in March, we secured vacant possession of an important part of the first phase of this site during the period.

“Subject to further planning and land assembly workstreams, we could potentially start enabling works in the first half of 2024 as well.”

Hybrid planning permission for a residential-led mixed-use scheme was secured in September 2022 for 12 blocks, up to 36 storeys, delivering around 1,500 new residential units.

The Morden Wharf development will include 186,000 sq ft of commercial floor space and 50,000 sq ft of retail, restaurant, community, and convenience spaces.

The development includes a 275-metre riverside frontage with an enhanced Thames Path, and a 3.9-acre riverside park.

Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman at Galliard Homes, said: “Galliard Homes is delighted to announce our partnership with CDL, to provide much-needed homes within Greenwich.

“CDL’s worldwide reputation as an industry leader, marked by their commitment to delivering first class development across numerous asset classes, aligns with our values. We hope this will be the first of many more future projects together.”

Its joint venture with Lendlease is the first time that Daiwa House has been involved in the development and sale of new homes in the United Kingdom.

Lendlease will develop and construct the new homes, which have an end value of £250m and retain a 25 per cent interest in the project, which will be the final stage of residential development at Elephant Park.

Both firms previously partnered on the delivery of a 41-storey mixed use building in Manhattan, and recently began work on a build-to-rent apartment development in Melbourne.

Lendlease’s European chief executive, Andrea Ruckstuhl, said: “This deal is a significant vote of confidence in the property market in the United Kingdom. We’re very pleased to be able to bring Japanese investment here and it’s another illustration of the desire that international investors have for high quality opportunities across our global pipeline of projects.”

Residents of the new buildings will be able to enjoy a communal gym, elevated garden, SkyLounge, 24-hour concierge service and cycle storage. Residents are expected to be able to move in from mid-2026.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Daiwa House, Mr. Keiichi Yoshii, said: “I am very excited right now. This is because this is Daiwa House’s first project in the UK. We would like to thank everyone involved, including Lendlease, for giving us this opportunity.”

London development manager Avanton with partner investor Canada Israel gained planning for the 515-home tower at the regeneration of site formerly known as Wembley Point, moments from Stonebridge Park train station.

Designed by architects Patel Taylor, Stonebridge Place promises to redefine the Brent skyline.

The development consists of three distinct buildings, with the 32-storey tower, at its heart finished with a galls and terracotta facade.

A second stepped building will rise from 10 to 20 storeys, alongside a third building of three stories that will house a boxing gym and a public café.

Upon its completion in 2027, this tower will stand as the tallest building in Brent.

Gil Selzer, UK Managing Director of Canada Israel, said: “We are thrilled to continue expanding our London portfolio with the introduction of Stonebridge Place.

“Building on the incredible success of WEM Tower, this new development reaffirms our commitment to delivering a stylish residential experience for young adults in London.”

The Bromley by Bow Gasworks site in east London comprises seven disused Grade II listed gasholders.

Under plans drawn up by architect RSHP, these will be restored to incorporate many of the new homes within the cast iron structures.

The remaining homes will be built in higher rise surrounding cylindrical buildings echoing the gas holder homes.

St William’s ambitious scheme will involve a hefty upfront investment with the cost of temporary disassembly and restoration of the seven listed gasholders put at £80m alone.

This is before largely unquantifiable decontamination, enabling and ground remediation costs on the 9 hectare site.

Structural steel engineering specialists Craddys and Shepley have been closely involved in drawing up plans to reuse the cast iron gas holder structures, built between 1870 and 1882 for a cost of £300,000.

Both firms were previously involved in the project to dismantle, refurbish and re-erect the Gasholder No.8 guide frame at Kings Cross as well as the refurbishment and re-erection of the Kings Cross Triplets Gasholders.

St William has submitted a hybrid planning application for the site, which also include the remains of two gas holders destroyed by the Luftwaffe in the second World War.

These will turned into a central circular lake and a community space covered with one of the gas holder iron frames.

The proposed new neighbourhood will provide over 2,500 homes, of which at least 500 will be affordable, plus two parks and a local high street with a reinstated, historic canal basin at its heart.

Plans also include over 90,000 sq ft of shops, cafes and restaurants as well as a new 130,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s Supermarket.

The 19-acre site is one of the largest remaining brownfield sites in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A large proportion of the site has been closed off to the public for over 40 years as a former gasworks site.

The former gas works site on the Grand Union Canal has most recently been occupied by a scrap metal processing facility

If planning is successful, the 11-year construction programme is estimated to start in 2025. The first homes will be delivered in 2030, along with the new Sainsbury’s store and the neighbourhood centre around the restored canal basin.

New Sainsbury’s Store will be the gateway to the Kensal Canalside scheme

Architect FaulknerBrowns has shaped the masterplan over the last three years, in close consultation with the local community.

Two public parks and inclusive play spaces form part of the proposals.

A comprehensive sustainability strategy aims to maximise renewable generation and green infrastructure to produce zero emissions on site.

John Mulryan, Group Managing Director, Ballymore, said: “Kensal Canalside is one of the last remaining major brownfield sites to be developed in London and the largest in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

“The scale and location of the site – in one of London’s 48 Opportunity Areas – presents a real opportunity to create a thoughtfully designed, accessible and sustainable canalside neighbourhood with strong transport links.

This morning the house builder revealed it had aside around £31m to remediate what was described as an isolated design issue with the unnamed Greenwich building’s reinforced concrete frame.

The firm said it intended to seek recoveries from the firms involved in the scheme.

Bellway said it was carrying out a review of other buildings constructed by the same third parties responsible for the design of the frame. 

And to date, no other similar design issues with reinforced concrete frames have been unearthed. 

The latest problem building takes the amount Bellway has set aside for legacy buildings in England, Scotland and Wales since 2017 to £613m.

On this sum, there is still a remaining provision of £508m to be drawn down.

The firm is now ramping up legacy building retrofit works after signing the Government’s self-remediation contract.

In the present year ahead, Bellway expects to spend up to £80m on building safety works compared with £33m in 2022.

Bellway’s dedicated Building Safety division has so far completed nine developments.

Further works are underway on a dozen other schemes and works are due to commence on a further two developments before the end of this year.

The latest legacy job problem was revealed as the volume house builder revealed underlying pre-tax profit for the year to July 2023 had slipped 18% to £533m on revenue down just 4% to £3.4bn.

Despite the present market challenges, Bellway remained resilient with completions sliding by just 2% to 10,945 homes.

Underlying operating margin dipped to 16% (2022 – 18.5%), with the reduction mainly reflecting the effect of build cost and overhead inflation, extended site durations because of slower reservation rates and the increased use of targeted selling incentives.

The firm said it would now be delivering more timber frame homes going forward at it sought to contain cost inflation.

Despite the resilient performance Bellway finance director Keith Adey confirmed a round of job cuts with 150 roles going from the 3,000 strong workforce.

Adey said: “Given the uncertain outlook, we have conducted a review of overheads during the year and continued with a freeze on recruitment. 

“Two operating divisions have also been closed as part of our wider workforce planning, and it is anticipated that this difficult decision will result in a headcount reduction across the group of around 5%.”