Leathams seeks buyer for £130m Old Kent Road resi

Food distribution business Leathams is selling a £130m residential-led mixed-use development close to the Old Kent Road in Bermondsey, SE15. It has appointed Savills to sell the freehold for the consented one-acre beds and sheds site at 227-255 Ilderton Road, seeking bids in excess of £15m. Leathams Property Development secured planning permission last year for a scheme designed by Maccreanor Lavington, comprising 253 flats in buildings of up to 28 storeys. It will replace an existing three-storey warehouse, which is currently used for food storage and distribution with ancillary office space. Plans allow for 177 private flats, 18 intermediate and 58 social-rented homes, alongside 38,802 sq ft of commercial space. Leathams is a family-owned independent provider of food ingredients and has been trading since 1980. The business aims to sell the development to fund its move to new purpose-built facilities closer to the M25. The site is located 800m from South Bermondsey station and within the wider regeneration of the Old Kent Road. Directly opposite on Ilderton Road a scheme of 84 flats is under construction, with ground-floor employment space. The site is also close to Millwall Stadium where some 3,500 homes will be built across 30 acres, with a commercial district, an auditorium and GP surgery. Long-awaited development at the Old Kent Road is also beginning, following significant investment from both the public and private sector. Southwark Council recently completed the acquisition of the former Toys R Us site to bring forward a new London Underground station with 500 flats on top. Development will support the extension of the Bakerloo Line, helping to unlock an estimated 10,500 homes in the second phase of the council’s opportunity area action plan. Developers including Galliard and Aviva, Berkeley Homes and Avanton have a number of large schemes in the area. Avanton recently announced plans to develop build-to-rent housing at its Ruby Triangle site, which would support accelerated delivery for the area. Andrew Cox, director in the development land team at Savills, said: “This site will deliver one of the flagship examples of a mixed use scheme in London. It will deliver much needed homes for Londoners, while retaining all-important strategic industrial land. Great attention has been paid to design, allowing the two elements of the scheme to co-exist.” Bridget Outtrim, director in the industrial & logistics team at Savills, said: “The ongoing demand for online retail, coupled with significant supply constraints for appropriate warehouse units within London is likely to attract interest from high quality commercial occupiers, who, thanks to the scheme’s revolutionary design, will be able to coincide seamlessly with their residential neighbours.”   To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Images by Maccreanor Lavington