Southern Housing Group, one of the largest housing associations in the south east of England, has held a traditional topping-out ceremony to celebrate the delivery of one of its biggest new multi-tenure developments in London, Bow River Village. The event was held onsite at Bow River Village in Tower Hamlets, London, on 7 October 2015 and included special guests such as John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets; Fiona Duncan, Head of Area at the Greater London Authority; Tom Dacey, Chief Executive at Southern Housing Group and Tim Richards, Chair of Southern Space Board. The Group has worked with Higgins Construction PLC and Southern Space to deliver the first Phase 1 of the project that will offer 219 new homes and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. Tim Richards, Chair of Southern Space Board, said: “We’re thrilled with how this first phase of the development has gone and we’re already looking forward to Phase 2, which will deliver another 112 homes. “Southern Housing Group has been involved in the regeneration of the Bromley-by-Bow area for the last 10 years working with local landowners, businesses, Tower Hamlets Council, the Greater London Authority and the London Legacy Development Corporation to bring about substantial change in Bow. “As one of our biggest developments in Tower Hamlets and London as a whole, Bow River Village showcases our commitment to providing quality affordable and open market sale homes and represents our desire to positively impact local communities.” The event also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the launch of Southern Housing Group’s open market sale arm, Southern Space. Since it was first launched, Southern Space has delivered almost 400 homes across London and the South East, generating more than £105m in revenue and returned more than £35m back to Southern Housing Group to be reinvested in building more homes for people who need them. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “A key priority for me as Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets is to find workable solutions to one of our biggest challenges – the shortage of local housing options. “The hundreds of quality and affordable homes that Southern Housing Group and Southern Space will deliver through Bow River Village in coming years will contribute to addressing this issue. “This project will play a significant role in improving the lives of ordinary Londoners in Bromley-by-Bow and the general transformation of the area.” Steve Leakey, Managing Director at Higgins Construction PLC, said: “We are committed to delivering exceptional estate regeneration schemes and are pleased to be part of such an important project for East London. Higgins Construction is responsible for the design and build of the new homes, commercial space and much needed improvements to the river walkways. “Our aim is to deliver a thriving community at Bow River Village where people will want to live, work, play, learn and be proud to be part of.” Southern Housing Group recently submitted its planning application for Phase 2, which is looking to deliver over one hundred additional homes in the area.

A major Chinese contractor will build one of London’s highest-profile residential project. Citic Construction is understood to have already secured a spot as part of a joint venture on ABP’s £1.7bn Royal Albert Dock development. The Chinese construction giant is in talks with three major UK firms – Brookfield Multiplex, Laing O’ Rourke and Mace – over partnering for the scheme. Citic must select at least one of the UK companies to work with on the first phase of the project, which has a total construction value of around £240m. A senior-level source close to the scheme said: “One of the main conditions for Citic [Construction] doing this is that it will be able to choose at least one of those three [firms].” Phase one includes two contracts, the first of which covers enabling and infrastructure works totalling around £40m. This contract will be awarded towards the end of the year. It is understood the JV would be in pole position to win the second £200m contract, which will include the construction of around 700,000 sq ft of office and retail space. This is expected to be awarded in Q1 2016. ABP would consider handing Citic Construction solo work on future phases of the project “with the right conditions”, according to the source. Mr Xu said he was interested in other areas, including Birmingham, Cambridgeshire, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester and Oxford, with ABP’s London scheme representing an important “first step” for the company in the UK. Chinese developers and investors are increasingly eyeing the UK as a route into the European property market. Pinsent Masons partner Chris Hallam, who works with a number of Chinese businesses, said: “There are some incredibly rich people over in China and they are looking to invest their money in safe places.” China’s stock market has been in turmoil over recent months, resulting in the Shanghai index falling 8.5 per cent in July. Asked whether this economic woe may prompt investors to invest their cash elsewhere, Mr Hallam said: “It may give them a little more impetus to do it if they think things are cracking a bit in their own market.” He added: “China has built an awful lot over the last 15 years – it’s just phenomenal. “It’s another reason their contractors are looking to or being sent out by their own parties to the rest of the world – there is only so much work in China at the end of the day.” Citic Construction is part of Citic Group Corporation, which is a state-owned Chinese investment company, with assets totalling 3.56tn Chinese Yuan (£370bn). The corporation also controls Citic Securities, China’s biggest brokerage, which made the headlines this summer after senior executives at the company were accused of insider trading following China’s stock meltdown in July.