UK retailer John Lewis hyperlinks up with Abrdn to construct houses for hire

John Lewis has teamed up with funding supervisor Abrdn in a £500mn multi-decade deal to construct 1,000 rental houses, turning into the primary British retailer to show a few of its outlets and different properties into homes.

The worker-owned partnership, which mentioned in June that it wished to get into housebuilding, plans to construct the properties in Bromley and West Ealing in London, and in Studying.

John Lewis will develop and handle the houses, utilizing its property property, within the first tranche of a ten,000-home plan over the following decade. The corporate earlier mentioned it will use two Waitrose supermarkets and a former assortment depot for redevelopment.

“This can be a long-term three way partnership that brings collectively Abrdn’s expertise as one in all Europe’s largest residential funding managers along with the belief, service and high quality synonymous with the John Lewis and Waitrose manufacturers,” the group mentioned on Friday.

The deal features a dedication to reasonably priced housing and sustainability, John Lewis mentioned, with the intention of offering a “steady earnings” for the partnership because it seeks to diversify from retail.

Abrdn and John Lewis will unveil extra particulars for West Ealing and Bromley “in the end” and intention to submit their first planning functions subsequent 12 months, mentioned Neil Slater, head of actual property on the funding supervisor.

A public session for the positioning in Studying is anticipated in 2023.