Quintain is aiming for around £150 million in property sell-offs as it funnels resources into its vast Greenwich and Wembley developments and cuts debt, the company said today.
Weak property markets outside London dragged on the firm in the six months to September as the value of its overall portfolio slipped £19.1 million, or 1.7%, to £1.11 billion. Quintain is looking to lighten the load.
Chief executive Max James said: “(The regional property) only accounts for around 10% of the portfolio but there has been a bit of a drag on the valuation.”
Proceeds from the sales will be spent on Wembley and the Greenwich peninsula. Quintain is hoping to build a combined 15,000 homes in total there over the next 10 to 15 years, as well as cutting the debt below £400 million by March 2014.
Momentum behind the Greenwich scheme has increased since Quintain struck a joint-venture deal with Knight Dragon, the private investment vehicle of Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-Shun in June. The firm has submitted detailed planning applications for the first 500 homes in the Peninsula Riverside southern quarter, to be considered by the local council in February. “All being well, you should start seeing the cranes next summer,” James added.
At Wembley, Quintain has let or is close to letting 65% of its London Designer Outlet retail offering, due for completion next October.
