Gateway Digital - September Edition

The time is now

Many of those who attended our sister event RESI 09 at the Celtic Manor in South Wales last week were predicting an imminent seismic shift in the residential property market. The talk was of build-to-let, and how institutional investors are poised to invest heavily in the UK’s private residential sector for the first time ever.

And while the institutional investors at RESI debated the potential of generating net returns of 4% or 6%, the key thing is their new models are geared around creating housing products that produce returns over a long time period; it’s not just about shifting units.

The timing could not be more apposite for the Thames Gateway. Earlier this month Peter Andrews, chief executive of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, pronounced dead the investment model that hitherto had been driving high density development in the Thames Gateway. And he warned that failure to ensure the return of private investors to East London will make the difference between the continued regeneration of the area, “or a decade of set back”.

So we should take note when people like Bill Hughes, Legal & General's managing director of property, speaking at RESI 09 observed: “There is a widely held view that now is the sweet spot for an institutional involvement in the residential market.”

Might the institutional investors be the Thames Gateway’s salvation? And might the collapse of the old delivery model (which, let’s be honest, offered little evidence that it was up to the task of delivering the high quality yet affordable housing in the numbers needed in the Gateway) ultimately prove the making of the Thames Gateway?

It certainly explains why six weeks from this year’s Thames Gateway Forum, we have the highest level of registrations ever from the institutional investment sector and we are well positioned to deliver on our ambition of facilitating investment, delivery and action across the Thames Gateway. Make sure you are part of it too.

As usual, you will find more news from the Thames Gateway using the links below.

TOP STORIES THIS MONTH:
Thames Gateway to get largest UK cycling park
Denham launches North Kent MAA
Bishop’s concern of liquid cities
TfL agrees £1bn loan for Crossrail from European Investment Bank
Homes agency to review Thames Gateway spending
Government working on London Gateway rescue package
LTGDC refocuses on reducing development costs and investment risks
Denham rejects Rainham megachurch planning appeal
Goodman preferred development manager for London Sustainable Industries Park
All change at Southend Pier Head
Glenny reports strong occupier activity

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