Greystar closes £600m deal for south London site with 338 social rent homes

Construction has already began, with the first homes expected to be ready for occupation in autumn 2025. The entire scheme is due to be completed in the second half of 2027.

Greystar said The Bermondsey Project would emphasise “creating a vibrant and sustainable new neighbourhood integrated into the existing local community”.

The brownfield site will include retail, leisure and office spaces, as well as workspaces, gyms and lounges.

McAleer & Rushe will oversee Buildings 1-5, which will deliver 359 homes split between market and intermediate rent, and Building DE, a 20-storey tower with 225 homes and a four-storey office space.

Sisk will develop Building ST, which is two towers of up to 36 storeys, containing 472 market rent homes, and McLaren has been appointed to complete Building F, which will offer commercial space on the lower floors and six storeys of new residential space above.

Mark Allnutt, an executive director and Europe investment management leader at Greystar, said: “This landmark development reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality housing across all segments, from market rent homes to social housing, while also creating new opportunities for businesses and the local community.”

Barbara Richardson, managing director of Square Roots, added that the partnership with Greystar, the mayor of London and the London Borough of Southwark “demonstrates how an effective collaboration will deliver homes for social rent that are desperately needed in London”.

“Logistically, it is a challenging project due to the proximity of our site to the main line into London Bridge station, but our experience and expertise of delivering large, complex, high-rise, high-density residential and infrastructure in large public spaces will play a key role in this project’s success,” added Ger Hayes, managing director for UK South at Sisk.

In 2023, London Square was bought in a multimillion-pound deal by Aldar Properties, a real estate development company headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

In its accounts for the year ending 31 March 2023, London Square slumped to a pre-tax loss of £22m, down from a profit of more than £11m in the previous year. 

The most recent accounts for Square Roots, to 31 December 2023, reveal a loss of £834,000.

It is yet to be graded by the Regulator of Social Housing for viability or governance as it currently has fewer than 1,000 homes under management.