Bristol based land and property agents CJH Land has brokered one of the largest land transactions in the West Country in recent years.
House builder Taylor Wimpey has acquired more than 150 acres of land at Emersons Green, which will see about 2,000 homes built over the next ten years.
Specialist land and development agents, CJH Land acted on behalf of Taylor Wimpey in the acquisition of the land at Emersons Green East. Previously, the land had been owned by a consortium made up of Heron Homes, Gallagher Estates and Quintain.
The transactions, which will see Taylor Wimpey ultimately investing over £100 million, were initiated by CJH Land nearly 18 months ago.
Matthew Hiles of CJH Land said:
“We approached Gallagher Estates who owned 37.5 per cent of the land about 18 months ago. In the beginning there was a fair amount of cat and mouse between the two parties, but once a formal offer was made the deal progressed fairly quickly considering its size and the contracts were exchanged just before Christmas 2011.”
“Quintain, which is another large national property company, had a 25 per cent interest in the land and when they learnt of Taylor Wimpey’s purchase of the Gallagher Estate’s interest, they were very keen to listen to our clients. After initial discussions a deal was again quickly agreed. It always helps when you have a willing seller and a willing buyer and in this instance we certainly had that.”
The final piece of the jigsaw was the acquisition of the remaining 37.5 per cent interest of the site, which was controlled by Heron Homes.
As Taylor Wimpey had already acquired the Gallagher Estates and Quintain holdings, they knew all there was to know about the land. Again, once the “deal” was agreed, it progressed fairly quickly and completed in July of this year.
Matthew said:
“From start to finish, the whole deal took about 12 months, which may sound like a long time, but considering the amount of work necessary to purchase a site of this size in three separate transactions, it is actually quite quick.”
The development, which will complement the existing community at Emersons Green, will see new homes, a large amount of new employment and commercial floor space, shops, schools and a local centre.
CJH Land Limited, based in Flax Bourton South of Bristol, specialise in the sale of residential development land and have been extremely encouraged with their sector of the property market in recent months.
Matthew said:
“The last 18-24 months has been very busy for us and we have been involved in a number of significant land sales. All of the house builders and developers we work with are seeking new land opportunities as the housing market in this part of the country seems pretty stable.”
Photo: Matthew Hiles of CJH Land Limited.
Source: CJH Land Limited
