Residential Land breaks self-imposed central London remit to buy Chiswick flat development
Residential Land, the specialist investment group run by entrepreneur Bruce Ritchie, has ventured beyond its self-imposed central London remit for the first time with the acquisition of the 94-unit Kew Bridge Court.

Kew Bridge Court - London flats for rent in Chiswick

 

The price paid by Residential Land for the freehold estate in Chiswick, west London, is undisclosed.
  Residential Land bought Kew Bridge Court from New York-based investor Mel Tillman, who had spent most of last year refurbishing the 1950s-built, gated development.
Ritchie told Property Week: ‘Occasionally something really takes your fancy that isn’t in your backyard, and it’s rare to get nearly 100 flats in a gated estate, all fully refurbished, all vacant and ready to rent. I feel very confident we’ve bought very well.’
Residential Land had made its mark by investing exclusively in prime central London until Kew Bridge Court, which Ritchie said he had pursued since last March.
‘It’s got land around it so we’ve got potential future sites for development and it fits the bill in quality if not in location. It’s not absolutely capital prime but it’s still a very good location,’ he said.

Residential Land also struck the Kew Bridge Court deal on its own, meaning the acquisition is also a departure from Pure Skill, the joint venture fund with Bank of Scotland Corporate, which has been the group’s main investment vehicle for the past year.
But Ritchie said Pure Skill is almost fully invested and that Residential Land is likely to launch another fund with Bank of Scotland. ‘We’re both keen to continue with that success and we’re looking to do another  tranche,’ he said.

Residential Land stayed out of the London market last autumn when ‘values came off 10%’ amid the credit-crunch uncertainty.

But Ritchie added: ‘I don’t see any evidence of it falling any more.’
Over the past two months Pure Skill has acquired three assets in Regency Street in Pimlico, Dorset Square in north-west London and Molyneux Street in central London – worth a total of £53.5m. Ritchie has lined up two more deals, which will make Pure Skill fully invested.

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For flats to rent in London visit http://www.residentialland.com

Residential Landlord Bruce Ritchie’s Residential Land has bought 59-60 Grosvenor Street, W1, as part of its plans to move into the prime West End commercial sector. The long-leasehold building comprises 24,500 sq ft of offices and four flats. The principal tenant, Barclays Bank, has a lease expiring in 2020 with a break option in 2010. The price reflects a net initial yield of 4.1%. Ritchie, founder and managing director of Residential Land, said: ‘’We have begun divesting some of our residential interests and moving into prime Mayfair commercial. This was a deal that stacked up for us, and we couldn’t resist. It fitted in with our cheque book not suffering as much as other people’s at the moment.’’ Godfrey Vaughan advised Land Securities.