Landsec buys mixed use developer U+I

Landsec is paying £190m for rival developer U+I, the company announced this morning, with the deal expected to be wrapped up by the end of the year.

Land Securities made an approach for loss-making developer U+I, which has plans to buid more than 8,000 homes across a series of regeneration sites in Manchester and the South east, in September.

Landsec, which is due to unveil interim results later this month, said the purchase of U+I would give it greater access to mixed-use schemes which it said have increased in importance in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

Landsec chief executive Mark Allan said the deal would pave the way for “new urban development opportunities [and] further strengthen Landsec’s front end development capabilities and placemaking skills”.

It said the deal would speed up development of three U+I schemes including the 1,100-home Mayfield scheme next door to Manchester Piccadilly station, which U+I is developing with a host of local bodies including the city council, as well as two schemes in London – the 1,500-home Morden Wharf tower scheme in Greenwich and Allies and Morrison’s Landmark Court office-led scheme in Southwark, which will also include 36 homes.

In addition to these three projects, U+I is also promoting the 400-home 8, Albert Embankment scheme on the river Thames in Lambeth, and the 5,000-home CNFE joint venture project with Cambridge council and Anglian Water.

Earlier this year, U+I carried out a strategic review under new chief executive Richard Upton which in May saw the firm announce it was pulling out of 35 non-core projects.

Upton said: “U+I’s core portfolio of large, mixed-use regeneration schemes can now achieve its full potential with the capital, experience and market positioning that Landsec can provide.”