Specialist residential investor Amro Partners has bought a retail park in south London from Legal & General and is working up plans for a 1,000-home rented residential scheme.

Amro said it had completed a deal to buy Lewisham Retail Park and is working up plans for a project with a gross development value of £400M that will have market-leading environmental, social and corporate governance credentials.

Over the last 18 months, Amro acquired various adjoining land holdings from private landowners, concluding with the acquisition of the Lewisham Retail Park site and remaining land holdings from Legal & General. L&G had plans for a 550-home build-to-rent scheme on the Lewisham Retail Park site.

Amro said it will work closely with the London Borough of Lewisham to secure permission for an ESG-leading development with the highest possible sustainability ratings, including BREEAM Outstanding, Fitwel three-star, WiredScore Platinum and ActiveScore Platinum.

The project is expected to be completed and have a phased launch between 2028 and 2029.

While the exact nature of the homes is yet to be decided, the probability is that they will be predominantly BTR.

The company also invests in the student housing and co-living sectors. It counts more than 2,500 residential homes under development across Greater London, including projects in Ealing, Kingston, Sutton and Croydon, and it has a net-zero carbon 2025 pledge.

“This acquisition is the culmination of two years’ hard work piecing together this incredibly complex site,” Amro Chairman and CEO Raj Kotecha said in a statement. “It’s an honour to play a part in the regeneration of this bright and thriving neighbourhood, with a site that has such vast potential.”

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