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Watch out Barratt! Indian billionaire sets his sights on UK new homes market

Dubai-based Sobha Realty opens Park Lane sales office and plans to become major force in UK new homes sector and float on the London Stock Exchange.

Nigel Lewis

An Indian billionaire property developer has arrived in the UK to set up shop in London and says he wants to be a major new player in the UK within three to four years.

PNC Menon, who is a major house builder in many Indian states, Dubai and Oman, has opened a huge sales office ‘studio’ for his company Sobha Realty on London’s Park Lane at the site of Foxtons’ former flagship 4,800 sq ft branch.

He  aims to establish a £400 million turnover business in the UK by 2023 building apartments in the luxury market initially in central prime London.

His firm then plans to move outside the capital and into the more affordable new homes sector, if all goes to plan.

Sobha Realty’s arrival in the capital means the UK’s property market is to have a significant and well-funded new entrant to the new homes sector for the first time in decades.

Billionaire backing

The 70-year-old dollar billionaire and his £270-million turnover company have considerable resources at their disposal including 3,700 employees around the world.

But he says the company will be using UK contractors to build his first developments in central London supported by a team of in-house architects.

Sobha Realty says it will also be looking for UK property industry partners and plans to eventually list on the London Stock Exchange.

“London is a world city, with last year over 40 million visitors travelling to the capital for business and leisure, so this studio showcases our brand to the world,” he says.

May 3, 2019

One comment

  1. Easy to see which market this billionaire is targeting. Prime central London. Until we solve the shortage of building trade workers, nothing but wonderful sounding pledges will remain just that.
    We need to emulate 1966. Not only did England win the World Cup in football, we also built over 400,000 new homes.
    Like football, we have been declining ever since.
    Sadly, no pundit has spotted this flaw in “The Cunning Plan” to build more houses. Not enough skilled building workers, so we will have to train them.
    Again, no plan, just platitudes.

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