Aim-listed fund manager First Property (FPO) is turning its hand to property development in the UK for the first time in a decade. It has bought seven largely vacant offices, for a total of £3.4m, one in Bracknell in the Thames Valley and the others in Old Woking, Surrey, which it plans to convert into housing. "There is currently a significant oversupply of offices in regional locations in the UK, but a relatively buoyant residential market," management said.
The planning process for converting offices into homes has been temporarily lifted by the coalition government. Most central and inner London boroughs have successfully lobbied for exceptions, but in the vast majority of England developers can, until May 2016, turn office blocks into blocks of flats without planning permission. First Property plans to continue acquiring old offices, probably through a fund with third-party investors.
