London developer Anthology has launched a hunt for development opportunities outside of the capital as part of an ambitious expansion.
Following its merger with retirement developers Pegasus and Renaissance, Anthology is now looking for land, with a focus on the Midlands and the North.
Parent company Lifestory aims to acquire land over the next five years with a capacity for 5,000 homes. Lifestory is looking to acquire sites larger than half an acre, with capacity for 25-250 homes, which would see Anthology take on schemes of more than 100 flats.
Lifestory chief executive Mark Dickinson told EG: “It is an expansion of Lifestory. We are still very much focused on the retirement sector, but actually having Anthology in the portfolio allows us to open up sites that we might not otherwise have been able to put pure retirement on.
“There is no reason why Anthology needs to be a London brand. We can build apartments under that brand anywhere in the UK.”
The move will see the three separate brands come together to develop larger mixed-tenure sites across the country. It also gives Anthology a regional office network to expand the business operations.
“One of the things that is becoming really obvious as we are having to reinvent the high street and all of the opportunities that that throws up is that sometimes sites come forward which are a little bit complex and a little bit larger than might just suit a retirement solution,” said Dickinson.
“We think that is going to be quite attractive to local councils and to planning teams. It gives them way more flexibility in how they address potential development opportunities. You talk to one company that can provide advice on effectively anything with a bed.”
Lifestory is funded by Oaktree Capital Management, the majority owner of Pegasus and Anthology.
Last year, the business formally rolled out its retirement rental option, Lifestory Choices, further enabling flexibility in its developments. However, while Anthology is open to block sales for investors, it is not currently planning on diversifying into build-to-rent asset investment and management.
“I would never say never, but it’s not something that is within our strategy at the moment,” added Dickinson.
“We are very good at the front end and we can manage the whole development from purchase, planning, design, construction and selling and we look after the homes afterwards,” he said. “It is a flexible strategy, we are opportunity led, but we now have the national footprint to be able to realise those opportunities over a broader swathe of the UK.”
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