The Crown Estate and Lendlease sign transformational partnership for six major development projects
- Property & Places
The Crown Estate and Lendlease have entered into a conditional agreement to create a new joint venture partnership focused on Lendlease’s undeveloped UK land management portfolio.
The Crown Estate’s investment in the new 50/50 joint venture aligns with two of its core areas of strategic focus; supporting the development of science, innovation and technology space, and unlocking housing in the UK. The partnership should progress Lendlease’s existing masterplanning across the developments, thereby providing vital infrastructure, stimulating growth, creating jobs and benefitting communities.
About the Joint Venture
The joint venture has the potential to deliver over 10 million square feet of workspace including cutting-edge science, innovation and technology spaces, more than 100,000 jobs and circa 26,000 new homes – including rental and affordable – set across a programme of real estate development with a Gross Development Value of up to an estimated £24 billion.
Lendlease will continue to act as the development manager across the portfolio. The Crown Estate will use its position to support the joint venture’s establishment, working closely with Lendlease and other partners over the months ahead to help satisfy the conditions required to complete the agreement.
The portfolio contains six development schemes across London and Birmingham:
60 acres above and around Euston Station in London, with the potential to deliver circa 4.3m sq ft of commercial space and 2,000 new homes.
60 acres in Silvertown in London, with the potential to deliver circa 1.3m sq ft of commercial and 6,300 new homes.
40 acres in Smithfield in Birmingham, with the potential to deliver over 2m sq ft of commercial space and 3,400 new homes.
Three land plots in Stratford Cross, London, with the potential to deliver over 1.6m sq ft of commercial space.
250 acres of residential space in Thamesmead Waterfront, London, with the potential to deliver over 11,000 homes and 880,000 sq ft of commercial space.
27 acres in High Road West in Haringey, London, with the potential to deliver over 100,000 sq ft commercial space and around 2,800 new homes.
The partnership comes at a time when the UK is facing numerous challenges around housing and the need to provide quality commercial space for science, innovation and technology businesses.
Since 2019, the country has seen a shortfall of around 300,000 homes and more than 8.5 million people unable to access the housing that they need.
The UK is also a leading tech ecosystem – the largest in Europe and third largest worldwide. With growth particularly in Artificial Intelligence, Climate Tech and Cleantech, there is a need to deliver bespoke, quality space for the growing science, innovation and technology companies across the country, including startups. The joint venture forms part of The Crown Estate’s ambition to invest up to £1.5 billion to support the sectors over the next 15 years, announced last year.
Dan Labbad, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate, said: “With strong support from local and national government, we look forward to working with Lendlease and others to realise the potential of these projects to create jobs, stimulate growth and positively impact lives, while also generating income for the UK.
“As a country, we face challenges to unlocking growth. To support this, we need to spark investment in sectors like science, technology, and housing, alongside deep collaboration across communities, government, and the private sector. This joint venture is an example of how The Crown Estate is harnessing its mandate to act in the UK’s long-term national interest, supported by new investment powers, and stepping up its ambition to support inclusive growth for the nation.”
Tony Lombardo, Group CEO of Lendlease, said: “Our partnership with The Crown Estate will create an industry leading alliance that is expected to unlock value within our high-quality UK development portfolio, while accelerating the release of capital for the Group.
“With our expertise in delivering city shaping urban regeneration projects, the joint venture aims to deliver positive outcomes for our securityholders, communities and partners.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “We are pulling every lever to grow our economy so we can put more money in people’s pockets, boost home ownership and make Britain a global hub for life sciences through our Plan for Change.
“This includes creating the right environment for organisations like The Crown Estate and Lendlease to partner, helping us to unlock capital to get Britain building and get Britain growing.”
Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson CBE said: “This is yet another strong endorsement of the UK’s investment environment and our thriving real estate sector as this government has committed to get Britain building again, a crucial part of delivering our Plan for Change.
“This pipeline and the creation of additional research labs across the UK, will be a massive boost for our world-leading science, innovation and technology sectors, all key growth sectors in our upcoming modern Industrial Strategy.”
When combined with The Crown Estate’s existing £1.5 billion investment in the science, innovation and technology sectors over the next 15 years and development pipeline of up to 30,000 homes, the businesses will have a combined pipeline with a Gross Development Value of c.£44 billion. This includes the potential to deliver up to 56,000 homes nationally in the long-term – spread between the Capital and regionally – and up to 19 million square feet of employment space.
This partnership follows the Crown Estate Act 2025, which was passed earlier this year. The legislation gives The Crown Estate new borrowing and investment powers to further stimulate growth and generate greater returns for the public purse.
