Inland Homes sells Aylesbury site, agrees option on Essex plot

Brownfield regeneration specialist and housebuilder Inland Homes announced the sale of its 50% interest in Aston Clinton, a greenfield site in Aylesbury, for £11m on Monday, alongside the signing of an option agreement for a 13 acre development site in Braintree, Essex.

The AIM-traded firm, together with its 50% joint venture partner Europa Capital, said it completed the sale of its site in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire for a total sum of £22m with the Group's share being £11m.

Inland Homes recently achieved a resolution to grant planning consent for 400 residential units and 105,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and commercial space on the greenfield site.

It said it anticipated entering into an agreement to manage the development on behalf of the purchasers, and expected to secure “significant” construction contracts to build out the consented development.

“To have agreed the sale of our joint venture site in Aston Clinton so quickly after we secured planning permission for the development for 400 homes on site is a strong endorsement not only of Inland's broader business strategy, but also of the team's expertise in stock selection and navigating the planning system,” said Inland Homes land director Paul Brett.

“Further to this, we have realized the sale at a price that means our share of the proceeds is £0.5m above the EPRA valuation attributed to this site at 31 December 2016.”

In a separate transaction, the group secured a 13.1 acre site in Cressing, near Braintree, Essex.

The site and yard, which currently included facilities for both commercial and industrial uses, had been identified in Braintree District Council's local plan as capable of providing up to 70 new homes.

“Combined with the previously announced sales of sites in West London, Farnborough and St. Albans, the second half of this year has seen a high level of significant and profitable activity across the business as we look to continue advancing our strategy and deliver both sites and completed developments in answer to the ongoing housing shortage in the UK,” Paul Brett added.

“To this end, we have secured an option agreement on a 13.1 acre site in Cressing, Essex and will immediately set about realising the sites' potential by engaging with the key stakeholders.

“The addition of this site brings our strategic land bank total to 405 acres with the potential for up to 2,170 units.”