Criterion buys major Croydon asset for resi redevelopment

London investor Criterion Capital has purchased the 34,000 m2 Delta Point building in Croydon, London to convert it into around 350 new homes.

The former BT office building, also famous for its starring role in the Batman Dark Knight Rises blockbuster, represents the fourth such purchase by Criterion Capital since the UK Government revealed plans to relax the office-to-residential conversion process.

It follows Criterion's recent acquisitions of Astral House in Norbury and Eagle House in Wimbledon.

In the past 12 months alone, Criterion Capital has delivered 347 new Private Rented Sector (PRS) units in locations including Deptford, Slough and Piccadilly.

The company is actively targeting office-to-residential opportunities, focused on vacant office buildings over 3,400 m2 within the M25 and with good transport links. It is currently in discussions on a number of such opportunities, it said in a statement.

'As long-term and committed investors in London, we are all too aware of the acute housing shortages in and around the Capital,' said CEO Asif Aziz. 'The relaxation of the planning process through permitted development rights is one of the more logical Government interventions. It has created a golden opportunity for developers to deliver much-needed housing stock quickly and cost-effectively.'

Lloyd Davies, partner at Gerald Eve, advisor to Criterion Capital, added: 'Office-to-residential conversions make most sense in locations such as Croydon where there is a surfeit of office space, but demand for residential property is outstripping supply.'