RAPIDLY expanding property company Strawberry Star Group is well on the way to achieving its ambitious plans to deliver 4,000 new homes by 2025. With 2,000 units already planned or under construction, the company is concentrating on the needs of first-time buyers priced out of central London, as well as providing investors with a fully managed buy-to-let experience.

Since branching into the UK in 2007, Strawberry Star have the following assets under management to date:

• £11 million Freehold assets
• £230 million Block management
• £100 million Lettings & management
• £210 million Commercial portfolio
• £710 million Projects under development
• £82 million Portfolio management
• £65 million Funds under management

With central London property prices still not realistic for many, Strawberry Star has kept business buoyant by focusing its efforts on the commuter belt with new developments in Luton and Harlow. Complementing its London projects in great value locations at Wandsworth, Nine Elms, Royal Docks and Southall, the move beyond the M25 is designed to bring together quality housing in accessible locations, with mixed use elements, such as retail and commercial, to deliver London-style amenities on the doorstop.

Chairman of Strawberry Star, Santhosh Gowda, explained that the move into London commuter-town sites was part of the company's strategy to concentrate on volume, high-density schemes for first-time buyers and young families who wanted to be within easy reach of the London job market.

“A perfect example is the site for 447 new homes that Strawberry Star has just acquired in Harlow,” Gowda says. “The 4.5-acre prime town centre development is 10 minutes away from Harlow Town station, which has journey times of just half an hour to Liverpool Street. Not only is it perfect for a quick commute, but it's part of the Harvey Centre with shops and entertainment so everything buyers need is close at hand.

“We have already started work on a similar mixed-use development at Luton that is attracting a great deal of interest. Our 6.9-acre LU2ON scheme, which has won several prestigious awards, will have more than 877 apartments, along with a luxury hotel, shops and other facilities, with journey times of just 23 minutes by train to King's Cross.”

“We have a number of further site acquisitions in the pipeline in Greater London and other commuter towns, making this a really exciting time for Strawberry Star.”

Driving Strawberry Star's plans to deliver 4,000 new homes by 2025 is a revitalised and expanded senior management team with across-the-board skills in all aspects of housing, from finance to asset management, reflecting the unique focus of the company.

Gowda adds, “We are one of the few end-to-end property service providers, with in-house residential development, investment advice and deal making, capital finance, underwriting capabilities, bulk acquisitions as well as consumer-orientated new homes sales, lettings management and asset management. Strawberry Star is a proactive business to evolving consumer demand, and we continue to expand our services.”

In recent months, the company has welcomed various outside expertise to fuel the company's growth:

Kaushal Niraula has taken the vital position of Chief of Staff. With core expertise in new market development, branding and change management, he will support chairman Santhosh Gowda in driving growth, promoting organisational agility and bringing new synergies to Strawberry Star. Kaushal has 10+ years' stable corporate experience with Serco Plc and the Arora Group.

Ben Martin has been appointed as Director for Asset Management, bringing significant experience in block management, build-to-rent and mixed-use property to the table and helping to provide full professional property management for investors. Before joining Strawberry Star, he was the head of Residential Management at Cluttons.

Simon Clarke has come onboard as Associate Director for International Sales, bringing rich experience and in-depth knowledge of the international property sector, specialising in strategic partnerships and product launches. In the past, he worked for North Point Global Ltd, Acentus Real Estate Ltd, TSG Europe Ltd, and Easy Move among others.

Rashmi Singh is Associate Director of Human Resources and is a transformation and management specialist. She will be responsible for overseeing the company's most critical asset – its people. In the past, she worked for Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJL), India as Head of HR and Tata Teleservices Limited, India, as Chief Policy & Performance & Digital People Solutions.

David Rickell has joined as Senior Commercial Manager. Having worked for major housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey, London & Regent Construction, Berkeley Homes and Belmont Home, he is an accomplished manager with more than 20 years of experience leading commercial interface for large residential projects.

Michaela Morris has been appointed as a Senior Customer Relationship Manager. She has 11 years of rich experience in customer service and delivery, spanning across companies including Taylor Wimpey and St. James, Berkeley Group. Michaela will be closely working with all the teams, to create a differentiated and superior customer experience strategy for the Group.

With the new team in place, Strawberry Star is perfectly positioned to continue its aim of addressing the London housing crisis by providing high-quality apartments to buy and rent, all just a short commute away from the centre of the capital.

“We already have 2,000 units planned or under construction,” notes Gowda, “we are actively looking at several other London commuter towns to expand and accelerate the pipeline of homes. With a focus on the long-term, we create, design, build and manage experiences. We are also working closely with the local communities to ensure that our developments are part of the local fabric with national and international appeal. As a Group, Strawberry Star's focus is on building thriving communities by working on regeneration and boosting local employment opportunities.”

For more information visit www.strawberrystar.com

ENDS

For further information about Strawberry Star please call Kathryn Reucroft on 07397 383 227 or email kathryn@building-relations.co.uk.

About Strawberry Star Group

Strawberry Star Group (SSG), established in 2007, is an international property company specialising in Capital, Acquisitions, Development, Homes, Sales, Lettings & Management and Asset Management of London property to local and international investors. The company has £1.4 billion worth of Assets under Management.

Founded by Santhosh Gowda, an entrepreneur with over 28 years of rich experience in leading international property markets, SSG is a provider of high-quality property services. The company has an outstanding track record of delivering market leading returns while mitigating the risks of investment. With presence in London and Asia and an office in Singapore, the company enjoys strong relationships with investors, local authorities, leading agents and world class consultants.