The Developer Has Paid £111 Million For Last Slice of Royal Mail Site

The London Square Nine Elms Park plans. (London Square)

By Paul Norman
CoStar News

13 December 2021 | 11:25

Residential developer London Square has bought the final three phases of the Nine Elms Park site in a deal worth £400 million in gross development value.

It has also struck a partnership deal with UK build-to-rent developer Moda Living on land for two buildings on the site.

London Square, backed by Ares Management, has exchanged contracts on 3.04 acres for £111.23 million to develop 756 homes across three sites. It will develop 186 private for-sale apartments in a 22-storey three-sided bronze-panelled building designed by Allies and Morrison, with retail and restaurant space at ground level. It will be the tallest building in Nine Elms Park, with river views and opposite the US Embassy.

The acquisition paves the way for the launch of London Square Living, the company’s new build-to-rent division which sources sites and develops them for rental.

A partnership has been agreed with Moda Living, launching with Nine Elms Park. The latter will develop 437 apartments across two blocks ranging from nine to 13 storeys. The scheme will benefit from Moda’s usual amenities such as a cinema room, coworking spaces with meeting rooms, gyms, sun decks with entertainment and planting zones and children’s play areas. All of the buildings sit at the heart of the Nine Elms Park masterplan overlooking a central landscaped park.

It will be Moda Living’s first London scheme, designed exclusively for rent and operated by Moda for the long term. The blocks will also have 103 affordable rent homes, managed by Paragon Asra Housing, and 30 affordable build-to-rent homes. London Square will undertake the construction.

The masterplan for Nine Elms Park has been created by Allies and Morrison, with architects Morris & Company and Gort Scott collaborating on the Moda buildings.

The sale of the parcels of land to London Square and Moda Living will be the final piece of the regeneration at the 14-acre site of the former Royal Mail delivery office, which closed in 2017, and mail centre, which closed in 2012. The development will also complete the last section of Nine Elms Park, in the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area.

Spanning more than 560 acres, it is the largest regeneration zone in central London, ultimately proposing 20,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs.

A linear park links at four key points to the Thames River Path and runs from Battersea Power Station to Vauxhall Cross, Nine Elms Park proposes nearly 2,000 homes and a primary school, as well as retail and commercial opportunities at street level. In addition to the US Embassy, Apple, Penguin Random House and the Royal College of Art will be moving into the regeneration zone.

Adam Lawrence, chief executive, London Square, said: “Nine Elms Park is an outstanding opportunity for us, delivering an exceptional landmark 22-storey building with homes for private sale in a prime location and enabling us to showcase the breadth of our offering with the launch of our build-to-rent division, London Square Living. We are building a much-needed pipeline of homes for rent, as well as affordable homes, alongside our longstanding track record of delivering exceptional homes for sale in the capital.”

Johnny Caddick, chief executive, Moda Living said: “It’s a statement of our intent that our first London scheme is in Zone 1 alongside the American Embassy. We are excited to bring our brand to London, and this is the perfect place for our flagship scheme. With our core brand proposition focused on unparalleled customer service, resident wellbeing, technology, community and ESG we aim to attract a broad demographic of members from across the capital and beyond. Our structure is now set up to deliver and operate thousands of homes for rent per annum across the UK and naturally London forms a a key piece of the jigsaw for our portfolio weightings.”