Strawberry Star acquires U.K. site from Tristan JV, plans £244m residential development

London-based property company Strawberry Star Group has acquired a mixed-use 4.5-acre site in the United Kingdom with consent for residential 447-units from EPISO, an opportunity fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners, in partnership with Addington Capital, for a price in excess of £15 million ($19.6 million).

Strawberry Star Group’s volume house building division, Strawberry Star Homes, will build out the site, which is expected to have a GDV of £244 million ($319 million).

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 40,000 square feet of retail space, together with below-podium car parking. Above the podium there are planned landscaped private amenity areas.

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 center space, and with the shortage of quality housing in the area, we believe this will provide benefits to all.”

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.

Santhosh Gowda, chairman, Strawberry Star Group, said, “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 Strawberry Star’s second mixed-use development in the London commuter belt. Work on the first scheme, LU2ON, will commence in May 2019 and create 785+ apartments in Luton.

Strawberry Star Homes (SSH) builds homes in London with a focus on zones 3-9 and popular commuter belts where the demand for homes is rapidly increasing.