Third.i recently picked up a landmark site on the Thames for a luxury resi project, and has a raft of other major developments in the works.
After five years operating in the London market, Australian developer Third.i has decided to put down some roots in the capital.
The 20-year-old firm, founded in Sydney, has chosen the UK capital for its first international outpost as it looks to “tap into local demand”. The team will be based at 22 Albert Embankment – on the river between Lambeth Bridge and Vauxhall station – and headed up by co-founder, Ron Dadd, who has transferred from the Sydney HQ.
Also on the team are former Australia and UK professional rugby player, Gareth Hardy (director of development), Steven Dunn (general manager), Guy Emmerson (director of acquisitions), and Jacinta Mendes (marketing manager). Their brief is to pursue land and development opps throughout Greater London, support new development launches and promote the existing London portfolio.
This is far from a cold start, though. The firm has already built up a £185mn pipeline of new-build projects in the city, and has further £130mn in the works following its acquisition of Westminster Tower (just along from the new office) a few weeks ago. “The Doulton”, as the scheme has been rebranded, is due to deliver 28 “world-class” apartments with interiors by Banda.
The new office will also serve as the marketing suite for Graphite Square, a forthcoming mixed-use scheme in Vauxhall. The development, almost at practical completion stage and soon to have its official UK launch, is delivering 160 new homes, 80,000 sq ft of co-working office space and landscaped communal gardens. The overseas sales campaign for this one saw a third of apartments snapped up in less than three months, generating over £40mn in sales, and making it “the fastest selling scheme in Zone One” according to the firm.
Globally, the company says it is on track to build a billion pound pipeline over the next five years.
Luke Berry, Co-Founder & Director of Third.i: “We are very excited to be opening our first international office in London and expand the Third.i presence to the UK. This is the strategic next step following our growth in Australia. We want to let our buyers know that we are here to stay through not only investing in a full-time office but by relocating some of our Australian team too. There are significant opportunities to be had in the UK from student accommodation to retirement living, so London is an appealing base to operate from. Gareth went to school with Rob, one of our Founders, and has followed us on our Third.i journey ever since. He saw an opportunity in London and asked if he could produce a fully secured deal to us, would we consider it? We agreed and that was our flagship project in Battersea. We have continued to grow the UK business ever since and it was important for us to therefore have an office in the area we are focusing on, which is close to both Graphite Square and another site we have recently acquired.”
Ron Dadd: “I am very excited to be given the opportunity to head up Third.i’s UK team. As one of the Co-Founders, I have been with the company for over 20 years based in Sydney, and so have already been a part of the company’s substantial investment into the London market. Working with the head of our UK business, Gareth Hardy, we identified the opportunity to replicate what we were doing in Australia in London, and the strength of our results to date demonstrates the demand in London for residences in desirable locations that have a focus on design and architecture. We work with world-class architects, interior designers and place makers around the world to create vibrant places for people to live, work and place, and have a strong track record of selling out projects and breaking suburb records.”
Read more.