Potential buyers of Olympic Village named

A list of leading UK and international property investors has been lined up as potential buyers of the Olympic Village, the showpiece development the government was forced to fund last year in the wake of the credit crunch.

The Olympic Delivery Authority, which is building the 2012 venues, has received strong interest in the sale of 1,439 homes, which will be part of the athletes’ village during the Games, as well as six future development plots on the Olympic Park which have the potential for up to 2,500 more homes.

The shortlist of potential buyers that will be invited to submit financial proposals includes a consortium of London & Stamford Property, David Wilson and Sir Robert McAlpine, Wellcome Trust, and The William Pears Group together with Urban Splash.

Also on the shortlist will be Hutchison Whampoa, Galliard Homes, and a potential consortium of LeFrak Organization, Aviva and JP Morgan. The other names are Delancey and Qatari Diar, Dorrington and Pinnacle Capital, and Grainger and Moorfield Group.

David Higgins, ODA chief executive, said: “Securing a shortlist with many of the leading property investors and managers both in the UK and around the world takes us an important step towards ensuring the village becomes one of the strongest legacies from the Games.

“Securing best value will be key alongside looking for the best legacy owner for the village. Shortlisted bidders will need to demonstrate the experience and expertise needed to realise the long-term potential of the village, establishing a complete neighbourhood with the best of city living all in one place, offering choices for all.”

The ODA is expected to try to recoup at least £500m ($782m) from the sale of the public stake in the village. Triathlon Homes, a joint venture between developer First Base and housing associations Southern Housing Group and East Thames Group, already owns 1,379 of the homes in the village which will become legacy affordable housing.

However, the public purse will not make a profit on the deal. The government has already invested a total of about £650m in the development.

The village was always intended to be a private development but the government raided contingency funds to pay for the scheme in May 2009 after the credit crunch struck and the bid from Lend Lease, the company building the village, was rejected.

The ODA believes the market has improved sufficiently to sell its stake now, particularly because it had already received a number of serious inquiries from investors and because potential buyers want to be involved in the marketing and sales strategy for the homes ahead of the Games. Some homes could even be offered for sale before the Games start at the end of July 2012.

Bidders must submit formal offers and proposals by next spring and a buyer is likely to be chosen by the summer.