Private equity firm Graphite Capital is investing £50 million for a majority stake in London Square, a new housebuilding company.
Private equity firm Graphite Capital is investing £50 million for a majority stake in London Square, a new housebuilding company.
An additional £50 million of bank funding is expected to be raised for the company, bringing the total funding package to £100 million.
Led by ex-Barratt man Adam Lawrence, London Square will focus on ‘prime sites’ within the M25 and has been formed to take advantage of an expected recovery in the capital’s property market.
Says Lawrence, ‘While the London and South East [England] housing markets are showing signs of recovery, there remains a strong pipeline of new opportunities, including distressed land sales from financial and government institutions.’
Within the next five years, London Square aims to be building 600 homes a year. It plans to develop a range of schemes with private and affordable housing units at prices ranging from £200,000 to £1.5 million.
Graphite partner Mike Innes, senior partner Simon ffitch and investment manager Rachel Whittaker managed the transaction for the private equity firm, which typically invests in transactions with enterprise values of between £25 million and £200 million.
