John Lewis is targeting suburbs and suburban towns in the South East as it pushes ahead with plans to build 10,000 rental units despite warnings that the property market is cooling.
The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, said it would build housing above supermarkets in Bromley and West Ealing in Greater London, as well as replacing a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Mill Lane, Reading .
It’s part of the company’s plans to build 10,000 homes on the sites over the next few years, which John Lewis says builds on its ‘social purpose’ values to address the housing shortage in Great Britain. -Brittany.
Nina Bhatia, Executive Director of Strategy at John Lewis, said: “Helping create homes has always been at the heart of what we do and now we have a unique opportunity to use our expertise and skills in new ways to provide new, much-needed solutions. lodging”.
The move comes despite warnings that the housing market is cooling and that low-income households would be hit first and hardest in a recession, risking an increase in the number of late-paying tenants.
The pandemic has fueled amid an exodus of private homeowners from the property market as demand for outdoor spaces and homes in the suburbs during lockdowns propelled a price spike.
Ministers said the government had a ‘duty’ to the next generation to build more homes.
John Lewis said local residents of Bromley and West Ealing will be invited to a public consultation over the next few months to discuss the move, while those living in Reading will be asked to participate later in the year.
JLP added that the detailed designs will not be presented until later in the year to give residents the opportunity to help shape the plans.
Homes are expected to include a concierge service and dedicated rental service for John Lewis products, while some could feature its Little Waitrose convenience stores as well as fitness studios and rooftop gardens.
John Lewis’ push into the rental housing market comes as it strives to ensure that 40% of its profits will be generated outside of retail by 2030.
Unrest on the high street as well as aggressive pricing from online rivals forced Dame Sharon White, who became John Lewis’ first female chairwoman in February 2020, to take drastic action by closing stores, scrapping the bounty on the staff for the first time since 1953 and cut around 1,500 jobs.
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-09 05:00:00
