News
Lendlease, London Square and Telford Homes latest to sign government cladding contracts
Building developers Lendlease, London Square and Telford have all signed cladding remediation contracts issued by the government, bringing the number of developers who have signed to 43.
The Department for Levelling UP confirmed last week that 39 developers had signed contracts, having given them a six-week deadline at the end of January to sign.
The contracts mandate that the developers have to take responsibility for “all necessary works” to “address life-critical fire safety defects” for buildings over 11 metres built and refurbished in the last 30 years.
Residents have also got to be informed about progress and taxpayers will be revised for funding spent on remediating buildings.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove said that plans on how it would target builders who fail to sign 0r comply with remediation contracts would be outlined this week.
Who are the developers?
Lendlease is an Australia-headquartered real estate company, with operations in China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and the US.
Introducing the Green Living Reward
Your clients can now get up to £2,000 cashback for making energy-efficient home
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
The company said that it had made a £114m provision to remediate cladding, which mainly related to buildings inherited through the purchase of Crosby Homes, a British developer, in 2005.
It added that prior to signing the contract a team was already working with building owners to assess responsibility and resolve remediation problems.
A Lendlease spokesperson said: “As a responsible global developer and investor we’ve always maintained that leaseholders shouldn’t be held liable for remediation costs and advocated for an industry-wide solution encompassing all of the supply chain.
“This decision follows a thorough and diligent corporate governance process to ensure it has been given the detailed consideration it deserves in the context of our global business.”
London Square was founded in 2010 and has a development pipeline of over £2bn.
The firm mainly focuses on the capital and its surrounding areas with developments of 50 to 500 homes with prices from £200,000 to £4m plus.
A London Square spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have signed the remediation contract with the DLUHC. Our lawyers had made it clear to the legal team for DLUHC that the standard agreement we had been sent was inappropriate and not relevant to London Square.
“We have never had any cladding or fire safety issues yet remain totally committed to the pledge signed last year that leaseholders should not have to pay for any costs associated with fire safety remediation work and our agreement needed to reflect this.”
They continued that it was “deeply disheartening” that 30 minutes after the government announced the list of non-compliant developers, the DLUHC’s legal team conceded to London Square that the agreement needed to be modified.
“It is also very disappointing that the government’s handling of the matter has discredited our excellent track record for building high quality homes and we have had to defend our reputation as a result,” they added.
Telford Homes was founded in 2002 and is also a London-focused developer and specialists in build to rent developments.
A Telford Homes spokesperson confirmed that they had signed the contract.
Broadthorpe Limited has also been added to the list, and is the parent company for William Davis Homes. The latter was reported to be on the list when it was first announced.
Developers who have signed the contract:
- Allison Homes Group Limited
- Ballymore Limited
- Barratt Developments PLC
- Bellway PLC
- Bewley Group Limited
- Bloor Investments Limited
- Broadthorpe Limited (parent company for William Davis Homes)
- Cala Group (Holdings) Limited
- Canary Wharf Group PLC
- C.G. Fry and Son Limited
- Churchill Retirement PLC
- Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC
- Croudace Homes Group Limited
- Fairview Holdings Limited
- Frasers Property (UK) Ltd
- Grosvenor Group Limited
- Hill Holdings Limited
- Hopkins Home Group Limited
- Jelson Holdings Limited
- Keepmoat Limited
- Land Securities Group PLC
- Lendlease Europe Holdings Limited
- Lifestory Holdings Limited (also covers Anthology Group)
- London Square Development (Holdings) Limited
- McCarthy & Stone Limited
- Miller Homes Limited
- MJ Gleeson PLC
- Morgan Sindall Group PLC (parent company for Lovell and Muse)
- Morris Homes Group Limited
- Persimmon Public Limited Company
- Redrow PLC
- Rowland Group Limited
- Sorbon Group Limited (parent company for Shanly Homes)
- St Modwen Group Holdings Company Limited
- Story Homes Limited
- Strata Homes Group Limited
- Taylor Wimpey PLC
- Telford Homes Limited
- The Berkeley Group Holdings PLC
- The British Land Company PLC
- Tilia Homes Limited
- Vistry Group PLC
- Weston Group PLC