What opportunities do London 2012 and other regeneration schemes present landlords and buy-to-let investors?

Whether it’s the likes of large football clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham looking for a new stadium, or landlords looking to buy property at low prices in an area set to take off, the London 2012 Olympic project is focusing the attention of many on the opportunities and pitfalls that regeneration presents.

UK Landlord examines how landlords can invest well in areas earmarked for regeneration across the UK in the next few years and looks at opportunities for buy-to-let investment and rentals in the particular case of London 2012.

Buy-to-let opportunities from London 2012

The enormous public investments that have taken place in the east of London in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have captured the interest of serious property investors over the last few years who hope to benefit from the increased prosperity the Olympics will bring to this area of regeneration.

Jackie Sadek, founder and chief executive of UK Regeneration, an organisation which aims to support and represent people engaged in regeneration in the UK, believes there are still buyto-let property investment opportunities in and around the London 2012 Olympic Village. “Rather than look to the obvious places such as Stratford or north Newham, we would point to the London Borough of Hackney as still being somewhat overlooked, particularly Hackney Wick,” Jackie advises. “In close proximity to the site (although this is not immediately obvious, due to current poor transport links), Hackney, with good housing stock and a proactive local authority, will definitely benefit from the ‘ripple effect’. In the longer term, the Royal Docks (South Newham) should be watched carefully; although the land ownership (over 80 per cent of the old Land Development Agency land holding is in the Royal Docks) is in the process of being sorted out, it needs to come forward at some point.” The arrival of Crossrail, due in 2017, should add momentum to the regeneration process.

Jackie says it remains to be seen whether the Mayoral Development Corporation that will be formed for the Olympics Legacy “is allowed to become a potent enabling body or whether it will be another organisation that just gets in the way.”

Full article in UK Landlord Issue 149