Applecross in £50m Forth Ports' ' tie-up

Published on Wednesday 19 March 2008 20:37

HOUSEBUILDER Applecross has teamed up with Forth Ports to create a £50 million development in Leith, as it revealed sales were on track to beat targets of 15 per cent growth in the current financial year.

Applecross shrugged off fears of a housing slowdown, saying January had been slightly slower than usual, but that business had rocketed in February and March.

It added that if the joint venture was successful, the Edinburgh-based housebuilder might be in the running to take on half of Forth Ports' development work in Leith. The planned joint venture will create 36 town houses and 144 flats on four plots of land at Western Harbour as part of Forth Ports' masterplan for the area.

Craig Hall, marketing director for Applecross, told The Scotsman: "This first project is like going out with someone for the first time. We'll see how it goes and potentially do more work with them in the future."

He claimed the company – which sells houses for an average of 432,000 – was thriving in the slowing market as its high-end buyers were unlikely to rely on large mortgages to finance their purchases. He said: "We're not competing against the likes of Miller Homes – we're in a different market. We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't believe in it.

"January is usually a very good month for us and was a little slower this year, but we are popping the sales in now easily." He added that the Tanalach development in the Grange, Edinburgh, had sold seven out of nine homes – ahead of targets.

Last year, Applecross reported a 74 per cent increase in profit to 7.134m in the year to April 2007 after doubling its turnover to 47m.

Its next financial year will run to the end of September due to a change in its reporting calendar, but Hall said the firm was set for 15 per cent growth on the same period the previous year.

Nathan Thompson, the managing director of Forth Ports, added: "We see in Applecross a premier Edinburgh-based house builder dedicated to quality housing.

"With that in mind, we recognised that they would be a perfect partner to help to set the standard for Western Harbour as we enter an important phase in its development."

A planning application for the development is being submitted to the council and building is expected to start in September.

The Leith Docks' development will be built over the next 30 years on the 350-acre site with 16,000 homes, about a million square feet of office space and community facilities such as a library, schools and possibly a 3,000-seat concert hall.

The announcement is one of a number of strategic partnerships recently developed for Applecross, including a 7.3m joint venture with David Murray's Premier Property Group in Edinburgh's Trinity area.