Showing posts with label Alto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alto. Show all posts

Thursday 12 April 2018

Quintain secures £36m investment loan on its ALTO development


From Quintain
 
Quintain has successfully secured a £36m, five year investment loan from TH Real Estate on its second build to rent development, Alto, at Wembley Park.

The refinancing allows Quintain to accelerate the development of the Wembley Park Masterplan and look ahead to the delivery of further build-to-rent buildings in 2018 and beyond.

Jason Rodrigues, Vice President of Debt Strategies at TH Real Estate said:
TH Real Estate recognises the long-term fundamentals driving the growth in the build-to-rent sector and is delighted to support Quintain and its best-in-class Tipi platform with the financing of this attractive, modern scheme.
Michael Jenkins, Finance Director at Quintain said: 
This financing represents an important milestone for Quintain and Tipi, marking the completion and leasing of our second build to rent development. The deal is a clear indicator of the confidence that lenders have in Quintain and our ability in the sector. We are building rental homes faster than any other developer and transforming Wembley Park into a world class destination for Londoners to live, work and visit.
More about TH Real Estate LINK

TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen (the investment management arm of TIAA), is one of the largest real estate investment managers in the world with $109bn in AUM as at 31 December 2017. Managing a suite of funds and mandates spanning both debt and equity across diverse geographies, sectors, investment styles and vehicle types, we provide access to every aspect of real estate investing.

Saturday 28 October 2017

Wembley Park: The Money Under Our Feet


There have been many postings on this website about Quintain's Wembley Park 'regeneration' and even more comments, particularly as the development has accelerated recently eating up warehouse and industrial units and apparently squeezing tower blocks into any spare space. In this guest posting Dilan Tulsiani stands back and considers the implications for local people as well as the locality itself.
 

On the 29th of August 2017, Quintain, a property investment and development business, announced via its website that it was ‘spending £1m a day on construction making Wembley Park one of the UK’s biggest construction sites’. According to Quintain, there will be over 8,500 jobs created, with a further 3,000 homes under construction ‘delivered at a pace not seen at any other London development site’. The construction framework consists of six contractors, the notables being: McLaren, Wates, Sisk and Carillion. Quintain have recently shifted their construction policy from ‘build to buy’ to ‘build to rent’. They aim to build over 7,000 new homes, with 5,000 labelled as ‘build to rent’, and a further 2,300 as “affordable”.

 

Quintain and Brent Council have both resisted using the term ‘gentrification’ to describe their partnership in transforming the area. Instead, you’ll see ‘regeneration’ on practically every website or poster promoting the ongoing process. This is understandable, as the critics of any form of gentrification, are quick to label the selective description by property developers as deceptive and dishonest. Technically speaking, regeneration is embedded within the process of gentrification. The Cambridge Dictionary defines regeneration: ‘to improve a place or system, especially by making it more active or successful’. Gentrification is defined as: ‘the process by which a place, especially part of a city, changes from a being poor to being a richer one, where people from a higher social class live’. Wembley Park’s ‘regeneration’ process factually falls under both definitions (for the remainder of this article I will use the term ‘gentrification’ instead of ‘regeneration’, as it is more accurate to my subject matter). Although, to prevent an ethical breakdown, new tenants would probably cling to ‘regeneration’ as an ontological justification for staying in Wembley.

 

Residents who have lived in Brent for more than a decade will remember the industrial abyss that used to exist just a short walk from the station. In this sense, the gleaming metallic towers, illusory designer outlet and newly placed pavement are well relished. However, there are a few fundamental concerns that have simply been swept aside. Firstly, the effect on the surrounding areas. There is no surprise, that most, if not all the flats in Wembley are not “affordable”. In fact, that term is usually used to provoke a narrative of relativity concerning financial status. Quintain has invested £900 million into Wembley Park, without careful consideration and evaluation from the residents of Brent, this could lead to some serious socio-economic disparities. David Fell, a research analyst at Hamptons International states that property prices in HA9 “have risen by 14% in the last year [2016], compared to a London average of 10%.” Just down the road from Wembley Park, a two-bedroom flat is valued around £335,000. A flat of the same size, less than 10 minutes’ walk away, is valued at £450,000 - £500,000. Recently, Alto has sold two-bedroom flats in Wembley Park for £800,000.

 

A similar problem was highlighted in 2014 during gentrification processes in South Kilburn, where a member of the Residents’ Association claimed: “Those who have been living in the area are essentially being driven out. This all amounts to a social cleansing of South Kilburn.” Moreover, Alpha, Gorefield and Canterbury Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations emphasised that the residents who have lived in South Kilburn for generations could no longer afford to live in their homes. These are not trivial or isolated matters. They’re simply the effects of gentrification. Wealth concentrated in one single area in this manner, will have drastic consequences. The surrounding populations will be allowed to use facilities, shops and walk the newly paved streets, but there is a cap on their indulgence of this ideology. Consider what the residents of Chalkhill think when their homes are (literally and metaphorically) overshadowed by the new apartment towers. When they, like so many other communities, have a lack of funding within their own neighbourhoods, along with other serious social issues. To name one, in Brent and Hounslow 34 high-rise buildings failed fire cladding tests issued after the horrendous disaster at Grenfell Tower. In contrast, I think it would be perfectly safe to assume that the newly built apartments in Wembley Park have some of the best fire safety systems available.

 

 Attached to this disparity of wealth is the subsequent problem of crime. There is no doubt that the new properties will have a well-maintained police presence, due to the proximity of the stadium, along with security guards for each building. Due to the disparity, crimes in the surrounding areas may increase. Let’s take some of surrounding areas as examples (take these as approximate averages): From January - August 2017, Alperton has had the average total crime rate of 118/month, Dollis Hill’s average total crime rate was 137/month, and Tokyngton stands at an average of 188/month. Tokyngton is the closest of the three areas to Wembley Park, and in recent years it has had a subsequent increase in total crimes committed. If the investment in selective industries and areas remains or increases in the next decade, there should be no surprise at the increase in crime. This correlation was well represented in gentrification processes in New York, especially Harlem. As living standards get higher, the price of property increases, more people will forcibly turn to crime – both petty and serious. The socio-cultural divide will only widen.

 

One last fundamental issue is an assessment by The FA (for those like myself who are not sport literate: The Football Association). In May 2016, The FA complained that Brent Council was considering those who visit the stadium “an afterthought”. The recent constructions sites, which appear directly outside the stadium, could present potential hazards to fans, according to the FA. In fact, these new apartments would present the highest, and thus the most expensive flats, with their own personalised view of the games below them. Wembley is already set to be overcrowded, yet with ongoing construction, and busy venues/rush hour, there should be an effective policy by the council to counter this.

 

Ultimately, I see no realistic counter-movement to what seems to be an unchecked gentrification process at Wembley. In the next decade, Wembley, just as many other towns in Greater London, will be injected with huge sums of money, none of which will aid ingrained social issues, but will make these issues less noticeable for those living in the newly ‘regenerated’ areas. In the meanwhile, surrounding populations will attempt to readjust and comfort themselves from their high price of living with the luxurious shopping outlets built on the borders between their areas and the ‘newly regenerated Wembley Park’.

 

Thursday 17 August 2017

Butt fronts Quintain's Alto celebration

Quintain PR coup - Geoff Hurst and Muhammed Butt
Residents, and there are many, concerned about the close relationship between Quintain and Brent Council and its leader Muhammed Butt, are unlikely to be reassured by a public relations event coming up on September 14th.

Muhammed Butt will be speaking at the event which celebrates Quintain's 362 home Alto development that, needless to say, does not include any homes that are affordable for the average Brent resident.

Drinks and canapes will be served from 6pm, speeches at 6.15pm and tours of the Alto development from 4pm. The event ends at 8pm.



Back in 2013 Brent Council did look as if it might put up some resistance to Quintain's demands LINK but that quickly fizzled out leaving Brent residents, particularly those on the housing list, losers to this rather special relationship. Quintain's planning applications have sailed through Brent Planning Committee regardless of opposition from the local community.

Friday 15 January 2016

Quintain gobbles up another chunk of Wembley as Fountain Studios sold off

Fountain Studios, Wembley Park Road


Local landmark Fountain Studios has been sold to Quintain for £16m. The studios have been used for Britain's Got Talent and the X Factor and excited queues of fans, some on step ladders to see over the fence, are a familiar sight in Wembley.

In the year to the end of September,  Fountain made a loss of £300k on sales of £5.3m, around 4% of the parent company, Avesco's, turnover.

It is likely that the Studios will eventually close with the loss of local jobs, although it is reported that a leaseback agreement has been agreed for a unspecified period. Presumably that will enable the Studios to fulfill any contracts already signed.  Local businesses, including restaurants and pubs, will also lose out with the loss of custom from the production audiences.

Quintain is likely to build housing on the site with some retail on the lines of the ALTO development further down the road.  Given the location and Quintain's aims to maximise profits these are highly unlkely to be social housing.

Quintain itself was taken over the Texan Lone Star Real Estate last year for £745m.


Monday 12 October 2015

Whose Wembley? Is Quintain delivering for local people?




The PR and the actuality of the regeneration of the area around Wembley by Quintain Estates (taken over by a US private finance company in July sometimes seem at odds.

On the ground as the video shows the new developments seem cluttered and clashing and the amount of high rise more than originally expected.


Quintain could argue that you cannot judge the development until all phases are completed. Certainly true regarding the open space but I had a look today at the 'Alto' housing development.

I was shown a 2 bedroomed flat price £515,000 for a lease of 299 years (apparently the last one sold for £485,000) . The small print showed that in addition to this there is a ground rent of £500. A 'Reservation' deposit of £2000 is required and then 10% deposit payable within 21 days of exchange of contracts, a further 10% deposit from the initial exchange and, and the 80% balance due on completion.  The service charge will include  24 hr concierge and security, building insurance, garden maintenenace and use of the resdients' gym. It is estimated at £3.65 per sq feet per annum which works out at about £2,858 per annum for a 783 sq foot 2 bedroomed apartment.

The apartment itself seemed nothing special. The rooms were small and there was little storage built in. I was unable to find out what happened to waste disposal.

But really it isn't the apartment itself that is being sold but its location and life style:
Wembley Park is home to the iconic Wembley Stadium the SSE Arena Wembley and the Hilton London Wembley.
Savvy shoppers will find retail heaven in the super smart London designer Outlet where there are 50 fashion brands of generously discounted prcies, 20 restaurants and coffee shops and a 9 screen 1800 seat cinema comple. The new Wembley Theatre, an innovative revolving auditorium with 1300 seats, opens in May 2016.
There were only a few apartments left unsold from this phase of the development. This is a plan for one of the two-bedroomed apartments:


 Clearly the question of affordability comes up even for those in full-time work. The median gross weekly pay in Brent in 2013 was £537.50 compared with the London average of £613.50. Zoopla issued the following housing statistics last week. House price rises and rent increases in Brent are amongst the highest in London.

When it comes to future plans the Quintain Wembley Masterplan is rather vague on what type of housing is envisaged LINK
We are committed to building homes that meet the lifetime homes standard and follow the GLA’s housing design guidance. Discussions are underway with Brent Council regarding priorities around borough-wide infrastructure and affordable housing.
 ■ Around 4,000 much-needed new high-quality homes for Brent

You can provide feedback on Quintain's plans here: info@wembleypark.com