U.K. retail landlord Intu says it has room to build about 5,000 homes and nearly 600 hotel rooms across its portfolio.
Building homes could boost the value of Intu’s properties and help address a shortage of housing in that country, notes the Financial Times. Intu is subject to a takeover offer led by U.K. billionaire John Whitaker.
U.S. retail landlords, too, have been revamping their retail properties by adding homes and hotels, as well as offices and other uses.
The U.K. government is looking at various ways of easing the housing shortage, including the conversion of empty stores on the nation’s high streets.
Building homes could boost Intu's value and address the U.K.'s housing shortage
Intu says its six main retail centers have 760 acres between them, of which 470 acres is devoted to parking and other uses that could be given over to development. An initial phase involving the development of some 1,700 rented homes would yield about 5 percent on development costs, excluding land, of £240 million (about $312 million).
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
