Sigma Capital Group, the residential and urban regeneration specialist, has agreed terms to acquire and develop the site, its first London site for its private rented sector residential portfolio.
Sigma has signed heads of terms, with an exclusivity period which runs until 31 March 2015, that allows Sigma or its funding partners to acquire the site and develop four new apartment blocks comprising 318 apartment homes.
The overall delivery cost of the site, construction costs and associated costs are estimated to be in excess of £50m.
The Barking Riverside development is a 443 acre neighbourhood being created along 2km of Thames river frontage in the Thames Gateway near Barking town centre. It has planning permission for 10,800 new mixed tenure homes.
Sigma signed its agreement with Barking Riverside Ltd (BRL), a joint venture company between Greater London Authority and Bellway Homes, with BRL and Sigma undertaking to enter into a conditional contract by 31 May 2014.
Sigma said that it expected site construction to start in late 2014 subject to detailed site acquisition agreements and funding arrangements. Completion should be by the end of 2016.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "This is a great boost for London's newest suburb Barking Riverside, one of the largest regeneration sites in Europe. This dynamic site continues to win design awards and has capacity for almost 11,000 homes. I welcome Sigma's innovative purpose built private rental housing model that will see us reach 1,000 high quality homes at Barking Riverside."
Bellway Homes chief executive Ted Ayres said: "We are pleased to welcome Sigma on board at Barking Riverside which is fantastic for the momentum of the project. We hope this will add further to the mix of housing being delivered in this emerging community."
Sigma chief executive Graham Barnet added: "We have been working with BRL for some time and are delighted to have reached this agreement for the creation of the first privately rented housing development on the Barking Riverside development.
“The inclusion of this site within our private rented portfolio begins to broaden our geographic presence as we aim to build a UK wide private rented residential portfolio. Barking Riverside is one of the largest and most ambitious development projects in the UK and we are delighted to be playing a small part in its delivery with such prestigious partners."
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