The John Lewis Partnership, which owns Waitrose and a chain of high-street department stores, has revealed the first three sites where it will construct and manage new Build to Rent homes.
The project is building on top of Waitrose stores in Bromley and West Ealing, as well as replacing a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Reading.
The firm has set a very ambitious goal of constructing 10,000 new homes on land it owns around the UK.
Over the next ten years, on land presently used as parking lots and above Waitrose supermarkets, new houses will be built.
Those who rent a home from John Lewis will be given the choice of having it furnished with John Lewis goods or doing it themselves.
“We want to take the John Lewis experience with us,” says Nina Bhatia, executive director for strategy and commercial development at the John Lewis Partnership. “Everything people adore about our brand – quality, trust, and service – we want to bring to the renting a home experience."
“Our role as developers and operators, as well as our established local business and employer, signals our ambition to bring long-term value to each of these communities."
“Using our knowledge and abilities in innovative ways to provide much-needed new housing has always been at the core of what we do,” says Hackett Group CEO Chris Hackett.
