Dolphin Living has exchanged contracts with Landsec for the purchase of the long leasehold of a site in the heart of Soho, London, in order to provide new affordable homes.

The site is located at 118-122 Wardour Street in the City of Westminster, almost equidistant between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road underground stations.

Planning permission was granted on 3 October 2019 for the refurbishment of the property to provide eight Intermediate Rented Homes.

Landsec purchased the buildings in June 2018 to fulfil its obligation to provide affordable housing for its Lucent development at Piccadilly Circus.

The development programme will complete in mid-2022.

Olivia Harris, Chief Executive of Dolphin Living, said:

“We are pleased to be working with Landsec to add much-needed intermediate rental housing in the central London district of Soho. 

At Dolphin we believe that intermediate housing to rent has a crucial role to play in meeting the housing need of workers who played a crucial role during lockdown and who we will continue to rely upon for the foreseeable future.

More needs to be done to support the intermediate rental sector and to deliver a step change in the delivery of new homes for this crucial section of the market. This is prevalent in the context of the recovery phase and longer-term response to the COVID-19 crisis, especially around how we look to attract and retain key workers in high residential value areas.”

David Heaford, Managing Director - Development, Landsec, said:

“This is a great partnership with Dolphin Living, adding much needed affordable housing to the Westminster area, and is the second such scheme that we are bringing to fruition within London. Providing accessible, quality homes to the communities in and around London is vital to the capital’s long-term success and we are delighted to contribute.”