LONDON: Eco World International Bhd (EWI), en route to a listing on Bursa Malaysia this year, has achieved close to £850 million (RM4.9 billion) in property sales from its three developments here and is set to launch new phases this year.
“We strongly believe in the United Kingdom market. We believe there is a lot of potential for us in London and for Malaysian investors in the UK market,” said Eco World Ballymore Holding Co Ltd chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin.
EWI, led by property magnate Liew, has a 75 per cent stake in Eco World Ballymore, the developer of three large-scale residential projects here.
The projects, which have a combined gross development value (GDV) of £2.5 billion, are Embassy Gardens, London City Island Phase 2 and Wardian London.
The £957 million Embassy Gardens achieved a new milestone with the topping-out of the core of Legacy Building 1 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday.
EWI had acquired the 75 per cent stake in January 2013 for £429 million. UK-based Ballymore Group owns the remaining 25 per cent in the joint-venture company.
Located at the heart of Nine Elms, which is set to be London’s new diplomatic precinct, Embassy Gardens offers a distinctive architectural style with apartments nestled among landscaped public squares, a linear park and amenities such as a private club.
The 2.3ha project will deliver 709 private residential units and 163 units of affordable homes across three residential blocks (Legacy Building 1, 2 and 3) ranging from 23 to 25 storeys.
EWI chief executive officer Heng Leong Cheong said Embassy Gardens recorded total sales of £120.8 million as at January 31 following its launch in September last year.
The sales were from Legacy Building 1, which has a total of 197 units.
“More than half the units were sold in less than six months at about 1,500 per square foot. The majority of the buyers were British investors and house buyers. The rest were from Asia, including Malaysia, and the Middle East,” he said.
Heng said Legacy Building 2 will be launched in the second half of this year.
Construction work for Embassy Gardens began in January and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.
Meanwhile, London City Island Phase 2 will deliver 1,130 private residential units and 15 units of affordable homes across six buildings, ranging from 12 to 27 storeys.
The project will also have three non-residential blocks for the creative industries, offices, retail, arts window, leisure, community and educational facilities.
As at January 31, London City Island had achieved sales of £273.9 million since its launch in May last year.
Construction of the first two residential blocks of the London City Island Phase 2 project commenced in October last year and full completion is expected by the first half of 2018.
Wardian London, located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, next to Canary Wharf, will have 624 private residential units and 140 units of affordable homes across two blocks (the West Tower and the East Tower), with around 6,452 sq ft of commercial and retail space. The West Tower will have 50 storeys and the East Tower, 55 storeys.
The Wardian, with an estimated GDV of £580 million, was launched in September last year. As of end-January, Wardian London secured £186.4 million in sales.
Construction of the East Tower is expected to commence in the first half of this year and completion of both towers is targeted for the second half of 2019.