Landmark Living eyes Cheshire expansion

Developer Landmark Living is on the hunt for more sites in South Manchester and Cheshire as its looks to expand delivery of mid-range luxury housing across the region.

The company, which has recently relocated to Altrincham from Warwick House in Old Trafford, is currently delivering projects across areas including Sale, Altrincham, Prestbury, and Timperley, but is looking to snap up more sites to deliver larger projects.

The company’s director Konrad Keller told Place North West the company would be looking at plots of between five and 50 homes, all based “within an hour and a half of central Manchester,” with sites bought with or without planning.

Homes developed by the company will be priced between £350,000 and £950,000, and it currently has 10 sites in its development pipeline; these typically feature up to 12 homes, all priced below £1m.

Sites set to get under way in the coming months include The Pavilion in Altrincham, which has a target of starting on site in the middle of September, subject to the discharge of planning conditions.

This will feature a five-home development including a restored Victorian pavilion on the former bowling green off Church Walk, just behind the Orange Tree and Old Market Tavern pubs. There will also be four three-storey houses on the site, which has been vacant for more than 10 years.

Projects currently nearing completion include The Acres, four three-storey homes built on Acresfield Road in Timperley, just off Park Road between the Metrolink stop and Timperley village.

The company has completed projects in Timperley in recent years

Keller said the company would be looking for more sites but said that due to the high-spec product he was looking to develop and the need to achieve certain sales value per square foot, the company’s coverage would be limited to areas like Altrincham, Stockport, Didsbury, Prestbury, and Macclesfield.

Sites of around 50 homes have been looked at by the developer, but Keller said the company would look to maintain “a considered, quality approach” to development, rather than competing with larger housebuilders like Redrow, Bellway, and Taylor Wimpey for sites.

The company has recently set up in Altrincham having purchased space from Nikal, which was previously based at the office on 20 Market Street.

Keller said the developer had looked at sites in the town – including Brown Street, which is being developed by Novo Property, and has expressed an interest in the Grafton Centre, a development opportunity being brought forward by Trafford Council in the town centre.

He added Landmark Living would be “pragmatic” when looking at opportunities including possible office-to-residential conversions.

Keller also said the higher-end housing market had seen some signs of buyers holding back due to the UK’s upcoming exit from the European Union, but added the market “should not be unduly worried” in its current state, with demand still buoyed by the increasing number of professionals either moving within or into south Manchester and Cheshire.

The group was set up by Keller after the sale of his e-commerce business in 2014, and currently employs four staff from its Altrincham base. Keller’s background is with Panorama Living, where he brought large development sites through the planning process for housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey and Redrow.

Landmark joins a growing number of developers active in and around Altrincham, including Citybranch, Hillcrest, Novo, Quinta, and Altin Homes.