“CASH-RICH” developer IM Properties has built up a £1.34bn portfolio of sites as it launches a strategic land division.
The venture, IM Land, will identify, acquire and promote new residential sites to sell onto housebuilders and developers.
Tim Wooldridge, IMP’s managing director, said: “The housing market isn’t delivering as efficiently as it should, for several reasons; first-time buyers face challenges accessing finance, many land-owners dont see the certainty they require to enter the sector, and house-builders lack the confidence to deliver major schemes.”
He said at the end of July the group had secured “sufficient land to deliver roughly 6,000 homes”.
IM Land said its team can “unlock technically challenging sites” which housebuilders may find too complex.
In April, IM Properties sold a £200m portfolio of industrial properties – including Birch Coppice Business Park, near Tamworth, Solihull Business Park off the M42 and The Hub, Witton – to “provide extra financial firepower” for major opportunities.
The Coleshill-based group has strong cash reserves, after generating pre-tax profits of more than £100m for the first time last year.
IM Land will be headed by Jonathan Dyke and the newly-recruited team includes senior strategic planning manager, Sarah Milward from Taylor Wimpey and three former members of Barratts’ land team; senior strategic land manager Marianne Horton, senior technical manager Richard Knight and strategic planning specialist Richard Pitt.
Mr Dyke believes land-owners and potential joint venture partners looking to realise value from their assets will all find the IM Land model appealing.
“The housing market has thrived in recent years but there’s still too much risk and too little certainty in the planning system,” he said. “We’ve assembled a very strong team from the housebuilding industry, which understands every stage of the residential planning and delivery system, so we can help our partners through what can be a daunting process.
“Above all, whilst we always think of the long-term, and believe only sustainable models can work in the housing market, we recognise that our partners need to make a return on their investments, just as we do, so we’re always looking for innovative ways to deliver maximum value for them too.”
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