Span Developments
Span Developments Limited was a British property development company formed in the late 1950s by Geoffrey Townsend working in long and close partnership with Eric Lyons as consultant architect. During its most successful period in the 1960s, Span built over 2,000 homes in London, Surrey and East Sussex – two and three bedroom single-family homes and apartment buildings. Lyons and Townsend first met whilst studying architecture at evening-classes at the Regent Street Polytechnic in the 1930s. Townsend started his first architectural practice, Modern Homes, in Richmond in 1937 and Lyons joined soon after. Commissions were sparse in the immediate pre-war period but they reunited after the war, working on war-damage restoration and house alteration projects and the business progressed. In 1948 they secured a contract to design a development of 24 flats in Whitton; this development, exhibited many of the features of their subsequent successful style. Span were notable for several characteristics, radical for their time, that continue to inspire and influence.
Lyons and Townsend shared a vision of social housing. The test of good housing is not whether it can be built but whether it can be lived in easily. Architecturally, their designs combined modernist design with attention to detail and harmony with the suburban environment, their house designs had mono-pitch roofs with large, clerestory high level windows and open-plan interiors. However, these were softened by more traditional features such as stock brick work; the Span ethos was to build "homes within a garden", so most developments include large integrated landscape communal gardens. The exterior space is a recognised feature and many Span developments are car-free – a radical difference from other post war developments. Concealed communal parking was deliberately located to encourage opportunities for social interaction. Commercially and Townsend targeted the young professional first-time property-buyer market and deliberately kept costs low, working to lower profit margins than established contemporaries.
The use of modular designs and the fabrication of some components on-site helped keep construction costs as low as possible. The high housing density added to the economies but was a matter of conflict with planning authorities. Span, Townsend in particular, promoted the concept of a constituted Residents' Association, membership of, a condition of sale, which included covenants that placed mutual obligations on the residents to maintain the properties and grounds. In 1953, frustrated with a lack of support from developers and funders for their ideas for modern economic housing, Townsend established Bargood Estates, a development company of his own in conjunction with Henry Cushman, an agent for the Alliance Building Society. To become a developer, Townsend had to resign from RIBA due to their conflict of interest rules of the time. Although the partnership with Lyons was ended, they continued to share the same business premises, the studio offices at Lyons' home, Mill House, East Molesey, maintaining their close collaboration.
Span went on to develop comprising 2134 dwellings, up to the end of the 1960s. Townsend and Cushman acquired four acres of the former Ham Farm Nursery near Ham Common, Ham and the adjacent Cairn House known as The Elms, that fronted the Upper Ham Road. With Lyons as consultant architect, the development, comprised 169 flats across fifteen two and three-storey H-plan blocks and a block of six shops and maisonettes set in high quality landscaping that retained many mature trees and plantings from the former properties; the Elms was demolished to make way for the scheme. Wates were the builder; as the project progressed and Cushman were joined by another former Regent Street Polytechnic student, Leslie Bilsby, to form Priory Hall Ltd. Towards the end of the project, in 1955, landscape architect, Ivor Cunningham joined Lyons practice. A final addition to the landscaping at Parkleys was the commission of a statue, Pastorale, by artist, Keith Godwin, unveiled in 1956 by Sir Hugh Casson and filmed by Pathé.
Parkleys established Lyons and Townsend's reputation. In the late 1950s, Townsend moved the development company to one of the properties within Parkleys. All fifteen blocks, named after poets, were listed Grade II in December 1998. Along with the adjacent Ham Farm Road, Parkleys was declared a conservation area in 2003. Bilsby had acquired land in Blackheath near to his home, this was to become the group's next project, The Priory; this was the first of nineteen developments of thirteen within the Cator estate. Constructed between 1954 and 1956, the development comprised 61 flats of type A, B and C and, like Parkleys, care was taken to retain the estate's mature trees. In 1957, Bilsby committed his time to Priory Hall Ltd.. The name "SPAN Developments" came into use in the early 1960s, deriving from the company's stated aim to "span the gap between the suburban monotony of the typical'spec building' and the architecturally designed individually built residence". In 1961, Danish landscape architect Preben Jacobsen joined Lyons' practice.
24 houses of type C30, set on a sloping site in South Buckinghamshire. Cedar Chase is one of the best-preserved examples of Span's work, it was controversial when built, but is explicitly included in the Taplow Village Conservation Area "because of the high quality of its design and the way it blends in with the landscape". Marsham Lodge, 25 houses in communal gardens in Gerrards Cross built in 1969, was one of the last developm
Opal Property Group
Opal Property Group Limited referred to as Opal, was a company based in the United Kingdom which operates a number of large property developments in UK cities, targeted at students and private renters. Founded in 1998 by Stuart Wall, Opal was the largest provider of private student accommodation in the UK, providing accommodation for 20,000 students; the company went into administration in 2013 and its properties were transferred to other organisations. The company was founded in 1998. In March 2013, the company reported that one of its subsidiaries, Ocon Construction, was to be put into administration; the parent company Opal may be broken up. 13 further Opal property subsidiaries in Liverpool, Bradford, Huddersfield, Leicester and Wolverhampton went into administration in March. As of April 2013, much of the various sub companies in the group were in the hands of administrators with various property management companies brought in to oversee the developments whilst buyers were sought. Opal's properties include: Birmingham - Opal 1 in Highgate Leeds Opal 1 Opal 2 Opal Tower Leicester - halls of residence including Opal Court, nominated for the 2007 Carbuncle Cup London Opal 1 in Hoxton Opal 2 in Greenwich Opal 3 in Holloway Opal 4 in Tufnell Park Manchester - accommodation blocks around Whitworth Street Nottingham - halls of residence with common room and gymnasium Newport - Opal 1 Sheffield Opal 1 near the Devonshire Quarter Opal 2 in Netherthorpe Opal 3 in Netherthorpe
Redrow plc
Redrow plc is one of the largest British housebuilders with a network of 15 operational divisions across the UK. It employs 2,300 people, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Steve Morgan had been working as a site agent for Wellington Civil Engineering when, in 1974, the parent company decided it was to be closed. Morgan offered to take over the contract, borrowed £5,000 from his father, completed the contract at a profit. Further work was carried out for Wellington and, still aged only 21, Morgan registered his new company – Redrow. Redrow expanded through small civil engineering work and, with Simon Macbryde, formed a separate building company. Geographically, Redrow moved from its north Wales base into Cheshire and in the early 1980s made significant construction acquisitions in Manchester and the Wirral. Redrow's entry into housebuilding came in 1982 and by 1985 it had grown sufficiently to separate it out from the construction business. A small acquisition in Kent provided the base for a south-east housing operation.
By now, Redrow was selling over 1,000 houses a year. Further expansion took Redrow into the south-west, south Wales and Yorkshire but Redrow had pulled out of the vulnerable south-east market just ahead of the 1989 property collapse. Redrow returned to the south-east in 1993 as the housing recession neared its end, buying Costain Homes from the troubled Costain Group; the construction business was sold and with Redrow now purely a development business the Company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. Redrow grew through the rest of the decade reaching sales of 3,000 a year. In 2000 Steve Morgan announced his intention to leave the company, retaining only a 14 percent stake in the Company. Paul Pedley, who had joined Redrow as finance director in 1995, took over as managing director. In 2006 Redrow saw its 50,000th customer. In 2009, Steve Morgan returned to Redrow as Executive Chairman, having increased his shareholding to just under 30 percent. Following his return, Morgan reopened operating divisions in the north west and south midlands, closed during the recent recession.
A year Redrow launched its Heritage Collection followed by the Regent Collection and more modern Abode Collection. In 2014 Redrow celebrated its 40th anniversary and its London division completed two developments, Kingston Riverside and One Commercial Street. In February 2017 Redrow acquired Radleigh Homes in Derby, an established company which delivered 200 new homes in 2016, it has since been re-branded to Redrow Homes. In September 2017, it was announced that Morgan would "ease back" to a non-executive chairman role with Redrow. In July 2018, prompted by growth in London and the southern counties, Redrow announced the opening of its 15th division, Thames Valley, based in Oxfordshire. On 18 October 2018 Redrow announced its 100,000th customer and released statistics on the number of direct jobs it had created, including 2,000 trainees, a further 200,000 indirect employees. On 7 November 2018, it was announced that Steve Morgan would retire from the company in March 2019 with John Tutte taking over as executive chairman and Matthew Pratt as chief operating officer.
In 2010, the company's newly introduced broadband television channel Redrow. TV was named best marketing initiative at the Housebuilder Awards for Excellence. Redrow won the best marketing initiative at the Housebuilder Awards for Innovation and Excellence in three consecutive years. TV, in 2011, for the'Our Pride - Your Joy' marketing campaign, again in 2012 for the'Share a little bit of joy' initiative. In 2011, 2014 and 2015 Redrow won the Gold Award for Best Large Housebuilder at the industry's What House Awards. At the 2013 Peer Awards, the online service ‘My Redrow’, won the Overall Customer Engagement award, as well as the Technology for Engagement category. In April 2014, Redrow was named Housebuilder of the Year at the Building Awards and chairman Steve Morgan was named Building Magazine Personality of the Year. In 2016, Redrow was named Housebuilder of the Year at the Insider Property Awards Wales and the North West Insider Residential Property Awards. In 2017, Redrow was awarded the Innovation Award at the North West Construction Group Health and Safety Awards.
In 2018, Redrow obtained a 5 star rating in the Home Builders Federation rating system, improving from a 4 star rating the previous year. The company's flagship developments include: Woodford Garden Village: Woodford Garden Village in Cheshire is the first garden village for over 100 years in the North West of England and utilises over 500 acres of brownfield land used for aircraft manufacturing. Redrow will be developing 900 new homes alongside 50 acres of green public spaces. Ebbsfleet Green, Kent: Redrow's Ebbsfleet Green will comprise 950 new homes, along with a village centre, sports pitches, a hotel and a pub, a primary school; this development will form part of the plans for a garden city at Ebbsfleet, with up to 15,000 new homes, based predominately on brownfield land, or former quarries. This development, is part of the NHS Healthy New Towns network. Plasdwr: Redrow is developing around 2,000 homes in Plasdwr, North West Cardiff; the £2 billion Cardiff ‘garden village’ will comprise four different zones, each with a central square and a primary school.
Colindale Gardens: Colindale
Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey plc is one of the largest British based housebuilding companies. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, its operational headquarters in the United Kingdom are in High Wycombe. The company was created from the merger of rivals Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey on 3 July 2007. Taylor Woodrow was founded in 1921, by 16 year old Frank Taylor, who borrowed some money to build two houses in Blackpool; as he was too young to form his own company, his uncle Jack Woodrow lent his name to the business, so it became Taylor, Woodrow Limited. In the 1930s, Taylor Woodrow diversified into building temporary hospitals etc. and thereby moved into general construction. Taylor Woodrow's main operations were in general construction with Taylor Woodrow Homes only being a small part of the group: indeed, housing sales declined, at the beginning of the 1980s, Taylor Woodrow Homes was still only building around 500 to 600 houses a year. In January 2001, this changed as Taylor Woodrow acquired Bryant Group, a business founded in Birmingham in 1885 by Chris Bryant, for £556 million and in October 2003 Taylor Woodrow acquired Wilson Connolly in a cash and shares deal worth £499 million.
George Wimpey was founded by George Wimpey and Walter Tomes as a stone-working partnership in 1880 in Hammersmith. George Wimpey died in 1913 at the age of 58, his family put the business up for sale in 1919. Godfrey Way Mitchell decided to retain the Wimpey name. George Wimpey completed its first residential development, the Greenford Park Estate, in 1928. In the 1970s, George Wimpey became the United Kingdom's largest private house builder selling 106,440 homes in the decade, in the 1980s, George Wimpey began to reinforce Wimpey Homes as a brand, focusing on quality compact housing. Advertising, featuring the famous Wimpey cat, ensured Wimpey Homes became a household name in house building. In March 1996, George Wimpey acquired McLean Homes, a business founded in the 1934 by John McLean, from Tarmac. In August 2001, McAlpine Homes was acquired from Alfred McAlpine in a £463 million deal and in October 2002, George Wimpey went on to acquire Laing Homes, a premium housebuilder, from John Laing for £295 million.
In September 2008, Vinci bought the operations of Taylor Woodrow Construction and in April 2009, the remaining activities of Taylor Woodrow Construction in Ghana were sold to management. In March 2011, a property investment group backed by private equity firms acquired Taylor Wimpey's American and Canadian housebuilding businesses. Taylor Wimpey's United Kingdom operations are focused on the Taylor Wimpey brand with historic brands being phased out. Taylor Wimpey's corporate head office is located at Gate House in High Wycombe. There are 24 regional offices in the United Kingdom. Taylor Wimpey is headed up by Pete Redfern, CEO of the company since July 2007. Taylor Wimpey was the main sponsor of St Johnstone F. C. for the football seasons of 2009 to 2011. In 2016 Taylor Wimpey held its Project 2020 Open Design Competition in an attempt to find a design for a "home of the future"; the project was launched in partnership with RIBA. Taylor Wimpey has been accused of selling "recently-built" houses and apartments as leasehold that would traditionally have been freehold, with clauses that allow the ground rent to rise in years.
This makes the houses unsaleable. Taylor Wimpey has sold the freehold to other companies, which can go on to charge exorbitant amounts for the freehold. Official website Taylor Wimpey Home Page – Yahoo Finance
Howard de Walden Estate
The Howard de Walden Estate is a property estate in Marylebone, owned by the Howard de Walden family. As of 2014 the estate was estimated to be worth £3.2 billion. The Estate dates from 1715 when Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer began the development of Cavendish Square in London, the streets around it; this land had formed part of the Marylebone Estate of the Dukes of Newcastle. It had passed from Margaret Holles, née Cavendish, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Newcastle, to her daughter Henrietta Cavendish Harley. At the death of Henrietta's husband, the 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, in 1741, this new Harley Estate passed to his only daughter, Margaret Cavendish Harley, who in 1734 had married William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, it was subsequently known as the Portland, was handed down to successive Dukes of Portland. In 1879, the 5th Duke of Portland died without issue and his estates were divided between his sisters, according to the terms of the 4th Duke's will, his cousin, who succeeded him as the sixth Duke.
The Portland Estate passed to the last surviving sister, Lucy Ellis, the widow of the 6th Lord Howard de Walden, has remained in this family since then. The Estate holds the freehold to over 850 properties; the main area extends north west to Hallam Street and south to Wigmore Street. A large tract of the estate, which included properties along the Eastern edge of Marylebone were sold in 1925 to Sir John Ellerman; this land is now owned by the Langham Estate. The Howard de Walden Estate includes property on Marylebone High Harley Street. In the 1990s the Estate took steps to revitalise the High Street, adding new shops including the Waitrose supermarket. 110 and 112 Harley Street Howard de Walden Estate Marylebone
London
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans; the City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of the London Assembly. London is considered to be one of the world's most important global cities and has been termed the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, sustainable, most investment friendly, most popular for work, the most vegetarian friendly city in the world. London exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, education, fashion, healthcare, professional services and development, tourism and transportation.
London ranks 26 out of 300 major cities for economic performance. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or sixth largest metropolitan area GDP, it is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games. London has a diverse range of people and cultures, more than 300 languages are spoken in the region, its estimated mid-2016 municipal population was 8,787,892, the most populous of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
The population within the London commuter belt is the most populous in the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. London was the world's most populous city from c. 1831 to 1925. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. London has numerous museums, galleries and sporting events; these include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world. "London" is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD in the Latinised form Londinium. Over the years, the name has attracted many mythicising explanations; the earliest attested appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written around 1136. This had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had taken over the city and named it Kaerlud.
Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources Latin, Old English, Welsh, with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It is agreed; this was adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English, the ancestor-language of English. The toponymy of the Common Brythonic form is much debated. A prominent explanation was Richard Coates's 1998 argument that the name derived from pre-Celtic Old European *lowonida, meaning "river too wide to ford". Coates suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London. However, most work has accepted a Celtic origin for the name, recent studies have favoured an explanation along the lines of a Celtic derivative of a proto-Indo-European root *lendh-, combined with the Celtic suffix *-injo- or *-onjo-. Peter Schrijver has suggested, on these grounds, that the name meant'place that floods'; until 1889, the name "London" applied to the City of London, but since it has referred to the County of London and Greater London.
"London" is sometimes written informally as "LDN". In 1993, the remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the south foreshore, upstream of Vauxhall Bridge; this bridge either reached a now lost island in it. Two of those timbers were radiocarbon dated to between 1750 BC and 1285 BC. In 2010 the foundations of a large timber structure, dated to between 4800 BC and 4500 BC, were found on the Thames's south foreshore, downstream of Vauxhall Bridge; the function of the mesolithic structure is not known. Both structures are on the south bank. Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans about four years after the invasion
Goodman UK
Goodman UK is part of Goodman Group integrated industrial property development and management company. Macquarie Goodman Industrial Trust listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1995. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it soon became the largest listed industrial property group in Australia. In 2005, the group embarked on a series of acquisitions designed to increase its breadth and depth and expand its operations into new markets, it acquired Arlington, Akeler, Rosemound and J-REP. This company specialises in the developing and managing of Business and Commercial Parks. Goodman UK has a number of parks situated throughout the United Kingdom, these include the following: Arlington Business Park Arlington Square, Bracknell Birmingham Business Park Colton Square Business Park Gloucester Business Park Harwell Science Park Leeds Valley Park is a business park owned by Goodman UK; the park is three miles south of Leeds city centre. The developer Akeler managed the building of the park, which has three buildings and was designed by the architectural firm Aukett Europe.
Oxford Business Park Rainton Bridge Business Park Goodman UK Website Goodman Logistics UK Website
