"Our new partnership with AstonWalker will extend our house building capabilities."
Stephen Litherland of Acland Homes
A North East property developer has announced the next phase of ambitious growth plans as it gears up to meet strong demand for its services and expertise.
Hartlepool’s Acland Homes has agreed an exclusive new five year partnership with Newcastle-based AstonWalker Developments Ltd in a move that will see it extend the scope of the planning, land acquisition and residential development services it currently provides.
Under the terms of the agreement, Acland Homes, which currently has £8.3m worth of developments in the pipeline over the next 18 months, will be able to provide extensive construction capabilities, offering a single source design and build service.
The news comes as the company, which plans to double its revenues to £2m and continues to acquire further development sites in 2021, targets sales of £5m by the end of 2022. Current projects include a number of new residential schemes in Worset Lane in Hartlepool, Cotherstone village near Barnard Castle, Queens Meadow, Hartlepool and Green Lane in Yarm.
Established in 2018, AstonWalker brings a wealth of experience to the partnership with its co owners having held senior positions for national housebuilders and tier 1 contractors.
Both firms have now agreed to formalise their working arrangements as they look to expand their regional operations.
Ivan Higgs of The Construction FD was appointed to support with delivering the partnership agreement and has now joined both boards as a Portfolio Finance Director. The Construction FD specialises in construction due to Ivan’s experiences of working as Finance Director for a number a major national housebuilders.
Stephen Litherland, managing director of Acland Homes, said: “We are seeing growth on the back of delivering a good quality, bespoke product coupled with strong consumer demand for new homes and the stamp duty holiday.
“Our new partnership with AstonWalker will extend our house building capabilities – they will be our exclusive construction arm. So we very much look forward to developing our relationship with them as we bring forward more developments in the next 12 months.”
Davie Aston, director at AstonWalker said: “We will be assisting Stephen and his colleagues with the construction of new homes in a move that will be beneficial for both companies.
“The fact that we are working together on developments across the region is a real statement of intent by both firms, helping to support the creation of new communities and quality housing where they’re most needed.”
