North meets south

Since 1995, London property developer Londonewcastle has carved out a niche in the market with its innovative and creative approach to design-led residential and mixed use developments. Steering away from traditionally generic and formulaic designs, the development team has sought to create stimulating buildings with striking architecture, stylish interior design and a strong awareness for the requirements of the local community.

Londonewcastle has gained a well-earned reputation for seeking out interesting buildings, often in fringe locations, that have soul and character. These attributes help the company to develop unique and creative living and working environments. Furthermore, with many of these buildings often coming with a rich history attached to them, this only adds to their enduring appeal and to the company’s approach of sympathetically restoring and injecting new life into neglected and overlooked spaces.

Nurturing talent
Although the core focus of the business is to create genuinely exciting buildings for multiple uses, Londonewcastle goes beyond what is generally expected of property development. The company frequently collaborates and takes inspiration from experts in other creative industries. Coupled with that, Londonewcastle are working with a number of high profile designers such as Tom Dixon, Jason Bruges and Amanda Levete, while pursuing an active arts & cultural programme. Robert Soning, marketing, branding and sales director, explains: “During the planning process we don’t let vacant units lay dormant. We put them to good use by collaborating with creative people and businesses outside of our idiom. The resulting shows and events give us a creative edge and help us to connect with our target customers.”

Huntingdon Estate, Shoreditch, London
Huntingdon Estate was secured with a change of use term built-in, and what followed was the creation of the Londonewcastle Project Space initiative in space on Redchurch Street, Shoreditch.  The gallery (c.2,000 sq ft), was previously used as a print works,  has been successfully operating for more than two years staging a variety of art & cultural events, helping to support, sustain and enhance creative talent throughout the local community.

The company’s vision is to offer an opportunity for the local creative industry and neighbourhood artists to display their work in a professional and uplifting environment. The space is donated to users and therefore greatly reduces the financial burden on burgeoning creative talent.

The Londonewcastle Project Space forms part of a wider residential-led redevelopment of the area being planned by Londonewcastle, with the intention of reinstating the gallery, along with c.20,000 sq ft of ateliers, retail and restaurant spaces which will appeal to small, independently-minded retailers.

Development projects
The Londonewcastle portfolio clearly reflects the company’s ethos of developing buildings with history and character. The selection of buildings below gives an indication of the type of projects the company are continuing to pursue in the future:

The Wallpaper Factory, Islington
A residential led, mixed use development occupying the site of the former Cole & Sons factory.  The development provides residential, live/work units, and offices which were subsequently sold off to a private investor.

The Henson, Camden
The Henson is a development of 46 private loft style apartments and penthouses on the site of a warehouse that was formerly the Jim Henson Muppet factory. The development provides 22,000 sq ft of office accommodation on the ground floor and canal side.

The Wenlock Building, Islington
The Wenlock Building is a residential led, mixed use development providing 55 private apartments, 27 affordable apartments and 50, 000 sq ft of new build B1 commercial space that is operated as serviced offices by Workspace Group plc.

Goldhawk Road, Shepherd’s Bush
The Goldhawk Road development was purchased as an income-generating industrial estate with future development potential.  Planning consent has been granted for a 1.5 acre residential-led scheme to include 24 houses, 33 apartments and office space of c.20,000 sq ft.

Chiswick500
Londonewcastle acquired this 35,000 sq ft serviced office building in 2007 with the intention of bringing forward a new residential-led mixed used development. However, due to a number of contributing factors, not least of all the established position of the building in the local office market, it was decided to continually manage the business as an active and ongoing concern.

The building was rebranded as Chiswick 500 to reflect its pivotal location on a prominent stretch of the road, close to Chiswick Park, and provides modern, flexible serviced office space for organisations of up to 50 people. It also complements Londonewcastle’s existing portfolio as an income-generating asset and has led the company to seek further opportunities to own or manage further buildings of this kind.

The way forward
Londonewcastle will continue to actively seek new development opportunities in central London as refurbishments or new build schemes. The business works independently or in joint venture, partnering with commercial-led developers or contractors looking to maximise value from their development sites.

The flexible nature of the team, allows Londonewcastle to work in a number of capacities, from business partners and project managers to providing design and marketing expertise across any project.