2019 has been a pivotal year for Greenland’s work in the UK. We began the year having completed the first phase of our landmark redevelopment of the historic Young’s brewery in Wandsworth, Ram Quarter. Since then, the development has continued to go from strength to strength.
For the first time in centuries, we opened the former industrial site to the community, culminating in more than 1,000 people attending a beer festival with Sambrook’s to celebrate Ram Quarter’s brewing heritage. Our leasing activity has continued apace: alongside the announcement that Sambrook’s would be relocating to Wandsworth, we launched Backyard Cinema’s first permanent London cinema at Ram Quarter, reflecting our ambition to create a unique leisure destination in southwest London. Residential sales have also remained strong and in 2019 we launched Coopers’ Lofts – 14 carefully renovated and unique apartments in Grade-II listed brewery buildings.
2020 is set to bring yet more milestones – not least the opening of Sambrook’s new tap room and brewery on site, safeguarding Ram Quarter’s unbroken brewing tradition for generations to come. Greenland will also be progressing its plans for future phases of the development over the next 12 months, building on the success achieved to date.
Greenland’s work at Ram Quarter shows the quality of development that we aspire to deliver in the UK. We believe that the long-term outlook for the London residential market in particular is strong.
Greenland has developed a reputation for delivering first-class homes around the globe, creating iconic developments in the world’s most liveable cities. This expertise means that we are ideally placed to unlock the unique opportunities that London offers.
There will no doubt be short-term challenges to navigate – not least Britain’s departure from the European Union – but as one of the world’s oldest and most important trading hubs and a centre of cosmopolitan culture, London continues to draw people from around the world to live and work. It is a global city and has resilience.
For us, the key is to design homes that continue to meet the needs of 21st-century London life and changes in how we work, shop and socialise. Our international footprint means that we have sight of changing lifestyle trends around the world, helping us to translate this knowledge for different cities and develop modern mixed-use schemes. Greenland Group is also embarking on global partnerships with technology innovators to explore how we can improve the way that new homes are designed, built and used.
We need to think big but local too, and our approach will continue to combine an understanding of global trends with an appreciation of what communities want and need from new development – a recipe which is already reaping rewards at Ram Quarter. Technology, innovative design and dialogue with local residents will continue to play an important part in this process into 2020 and beyond.
For now, we’d like to wish all our friends, colleagues and partners a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.
Taotao Song, CEO, Greenland UK