Weston Homes plans £500m land buying spree

Bob Weston on the hunt for bargain deals around London commuter belt townsSouth east house builder Weston Homes has unveiled plans to invest up to £500m in strategic land acquisitions over the coming five years.The firm aims to buy new homes sites across outer London and the South East in order to further expand the company’s existing £2bn portfolio of pipeline developments, which will deliver over 7,500 new homes.Bob Weston, chairman and managing director of Weston Homes, said he would look to purchase sites that could deliver between 100 to 1,000 units on any individual sites.The house builder will focus on acquiring sites within a 10-15 minute walk of a railway station or public transport facility.He said: “Due to sales success and the sell-out and completion of several major projects Weston Homes has allocated £500m for land buying and is seeking attractive land opportunities to grow our development pipeline yet further.”The firm is aiming for sites in locations such Bracknell, Barking, Watford, Hayes and Harlow, and commuter towns within 30 minutes of London including Reading, Stevenage, Borehamwood, Hitchin, Brentwood, Woking and Epping.The fresh land buying commitment follows strong sales performance across the business and the successful sell out and completion of projects including Denham Film Studios, Fletton Quays, Langley Square, Victoria Central and the selling out of the initial phases of Gun Hill Park, Abbey Quay and Edinburgh Way.