A new property investment company has been launched by the founder of Foxtons, Jon Hunt, to fund the development of new residential schemes.
Hundreds of new schemes will be funded each year through the venture - called Bacchus Partners - in partnership with local companies. Bacchus will buy the disused land and property, gain planning consent and build new residential and retail schemes.
Funding on Hunt's side comes entirely from the profits he made selling the estate agents in 2007, when he raked in £360 million.
Twenty sites around the south-east have already been purchased, with a total annual target of around 200 sites.
Mr Hunt said, “The focus would be on the more affordable end of the property market, with the plan to transform rundown and unwanted buildings into shops as well as social and private housing.
“The country is littered with rundown sites that are often a blight on the neighbourhood. There is a huge demand for both affordable and private housing, as well as jobs for the local community,” he added.
Instead of a central office, Bacchus will be run through as many as 20 independent partners working around the southern regions of the UK.
