Willmott Dixon has launched Willmott Dixon Developments at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, with the new division focusing on regeneration, residential, student accommodation and public-private partnership schemes.
The business brings together the group’s existing development, investment and regeneration activities, which have been built up over almost a decade, into a single national platform. The operation will be led by David Atkinson, director of development and investment, and Chris Wheeler, national head of land and development, supported by regional development teams across England and Wales.
Willmott Dixon Developments will work alongside local authorities on site strategies, masterplanning, procurement routes and delivery models for regeneration and development schemes. In the residential sector, the business intends to use Willmott Dixon capital to help unlock viable projects and align the interests of delivery partners. It will also focus on the funding and delivery of purpose-built student accommodation, as well as longer-term public-private partnership and strategic partnership arrangements linked to complex regeneration programmes and social infrastructure.
Graham Dundas, chief executive of Willmott Dixon, said: “Willmott Dixon Developments is an important next step for our group and creates a clear national platform for the development, investment and regeneration work we have been doing successfully for nearly a decade. Over that period our specialists have developed a track record for unlocking complex sites, turning early-stage ambition into viable, fundable and deliverable schemes.
“This launch establishes Willmott Dixon Developments as a dedicated national business with the people, capital, partnerships and network to help councils and other partners move faster from ambition to delivery. By combining genuine development and investment expertise with the construction insight that makes plans buildable, we are well placed to play a significant role in shaping the places this country needs.”
