John Lewis to build 1,000 new flats fitted out with own furniture on sites of old Waitrose stores
Would you like to live in a John Lewis home? Department store giant will build 1,000 new flats fitted out with its own furniture on sites of old Waitrose stores in £500m deal
- John Lewis Partners hopes to build 10,000 new homes over the next decade
- It plans to build the first 1,000 on the sites of two Waitrose sites and warehouse
- The flats will be furnished by John Lewis before being rented out to tenants
The department store giant John Lewis is hoping to build 1,000 new flats on sites of old Waitrose stores as part of a £500 million deal.
It wants to build one, two and three-bedroom flats that will be fitted out with John Lewis furniture before being rented out to tenants.
If plans go ahead, the first 1,000 homes will be built on the sites of two Waitrose shops in Bromley and West Ealing in Greater London, and a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Mill Lane, Reading.
The department store giant John Lewis Partners is hoping to build 1,000 new flats on sites of old Waitrose stores as part of a £500 million deal. The homes will be fitted out with John Lewis furniture before being rented to tenants. Pictured: A home furnished with John Lewis goods
The West Ealing site would be redeveloped to add homes above a new Waitrose store. In Bromley new homes will be built around the store’s existing car park.
It comes as part of a multi-million pound deal with the investment giant Abrdn set up with John Lewis Partners plans to eventually become a major landlord building 10,000.
Around half of the homes will be built on sites that the company, which also owns Waitrose, owns and needs to find new uses for.
The move comes as part of the partnership’s nine-year plan to diversify away from the retail sector.
The first 1,000 flats are set to be built on the sites of two Waitrose stores in Bromley (picture of the store taken 11 years ago) and West Ealing. Homes will also be built in place of a John Lewis warehouse in Reading
Last year it said that it wants to make around 40 per cent of its profit from outside retail by the end of this decade.
Nina Bhatia, executive director for strategy and commercial development, said: ‘Our partnership with Abrdn is a major milestone in our ambition to create much-needed quality residential housing in our communities.
‘Our residents can expect homes furnished by John Lewis with first-rate service and facilities.
In the next decade, the department store giant hopes to build 10,000 homes. Some of the first 1,000 will be built at a Waitrose in West Ealing (pictured)
‘The move underlines our commitment to build on the strength of our brands to diversify beyond retail into areas where trust really matters.’
Neil Slater, head of real assets at Abrdn, added: ‘The critical lack of quality rental accommodation in the UK needs to be addressed, so we are delighted to partner with the John Lewis Partnership to provide the required institutional investment.
‘The ambitions and responsible ethos of our brands both strongly align, and our partnership should offer investors long-term returns and give residents confidence in a top-quality living experience.’