Countryside Properties
Encyclopedia
Countryside Properties Ltd is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing association
s.
Its headquarters are in Brentwood, Essex
. The largest concentration of its activity is in London and the Thames Gateway
, but it also has divisions working in the South East, East and North West of England.
Alan Cherry, a chartered surveyor
, began his career as an estate agent
and was one of the founding partners of Bairstow Eves. In 1959, the four Bairstow partners formed Copthorn as a development business, with Alan Cherry running it part time. One of the Bairstow clients was another developer, Countryside Properties, formed in 1958 by Solomon 'Bob' Bobroff, and in the late 1960s the two concerns began to work together. In 1971 Countryside acquired Copthorn and, with Bobroff as Chairman and Alan Cherry as a joint managing director, Countryside was floated on the London Stock Exchange
.
The flotation was closely followed by recession and in 1975 Countryside passed its final dividend. Bobroff had resigned in 1974, and the subsequent expansion was under the sole direction of Alan Cherry. He emphasised the importance of design and marketing and took the Company into a series of very large sites, e.g. Chelmer Village
and Chatham Maritime.
In 2005, Alan Cherry sought to take the company private. A prominent investor, Paul Kemsley
and Joe Lewis's Rock Properties, increased its stake to 28.5%, forcing Cherry to pay more for the company. Countryside was bought out by Copthorn Holdings Ltd, which is now jointly owned by the Cherry family and the Bank of Scotland
, part of Lloyds Banking Group
.
The company achieved record profits in the following two years, amounting to £27 million on a turnover of £430 million in the year ended September 2007.
However, the late-2000s financial crisis
affected housebuilders acutely, and the company recorded a loss of £22 million on sales of £312 million in the year to September 2008. Its parent company Copthorn Holdings recorded a loss of £82 million for the year. Both companies published their accounts past the statutory deadline, after securing a refinancing deal in October 2009. Countryside's September 2009 results, filed in February 2010, showed turnover halved to £151 million and loss for the year doubled at £44 million. However, Countryside said the refinancing restored the company to a positive position and secured facilities for its development programme.
Great Notley Garden Village
is an extension to the town of Braintree, Essex
, built over a decade starting in 1993. As well as almost 2,000 homes in three separate 'hamlets
', it has a primary school, church, community centre, doctors' surgery, supermarket, chip shop and village green. The Village is cited as an example of Countryside’s design philosophy of 'maturity' and 'community'.
Urban regeneration
Greenwich Millennium Village
Limited, a joint venture between Countryside and Taylor Wimpey
, won a government-initiated competition in February 1998 to transform the former site of Europe's largest gas works into a sustainable new community. It is one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe. The Village won a sustainability award at the RIBA Housing Design Awards and a Civic Trust Award in 2004. 1,095 homes had been completed by 2008, and further phases are planned.
In 2008, Guinness Trust
chose Countryside in 2008 as contractor for regeneration of the Loughborough Park Estate in Brixton
, south London. The project includes replacing 390 homes built in the 1930s with 530 new homes and community facilities.
development in Cambridge
was the first housing scheme to win the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture. The same project had previously been the Overall Winner & Medium Housebuilder Winner of the RIBA
Housing Design Award 2006, repeating the awards which the company had won in 2004 and 2005.
Housing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
s.
Its headquarters are in Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
. The largest concentration of its activity is in London and the Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
, but it also has divisions working in the South East, East and North West of England.
History
The housebuilding business that became Countryside Properties was founded by Alan Cherry, CBE, who remained its Chairman until his death in January 2010. His eldest son, Graham Cherry was appointed to the board in 1984 and has been Chief Executive since 1996. His youngest son, Richard Cherry was appointed to the board in 1986 and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2005.Alan Cherry, a chartered surveyor
Chartered Surveyor
Chartered Surveyor is the description ofProfessional Members and Fellows of the RICS entitled to use the designation in Commonwealth countries and Ireland...
, began his career as an estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
and was one of the founding partners of Bairstow Eves. In 1959, the four Bairstow partners formed Copthorn as a development business, with Alan Cherry running it part time. One of the Bairstow clients was another developer, Countryside Properties, formed in 1958 by Solomon 'Bob' Bobroff, and in the late 1960s the two concerns began to work together. In 1971 Countryside acquired Copthorn and, with Bobroff as Chairman and Alan Cherry as a joint managing director, Countryside was floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
The flotation was closely followed by recession and in 1975 Countryside passed its final dividend. Bobroff had resigned in 1974, and the subsequent expansion was under the sole direction of Alan Cherry. He emphasised the importance of design and marketing and took the Company into a series of very large sites, e.g. Chelmer Village
Chelmer village
Chelmer Village is a suburb in the east of Chelmsford, Essex. Chelmsford Borough Council names it "Chelmer Village & Beaulieu Park". Chelmer Village is a ward in Chelmsford....
and Chatham Maritime.
In 2005, Alan Cherry sought to take the company private. A prominent investor, Paul Kemsley
Paul Kemsley
Paul Zeital Kemsley , is an English businessman. He is best known as a property developer, and to sports fans as a former Vice-Chairman of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur, and as Chairman of the revived New York Cosmos.-Biography:He was educated at Atholl School in Rayners Lane,...
and Joe Lewis's Rock Properties, increased its stake to 28.5%, forcing Cherry to pay more for the company. Countryside was bought out by Copthorn Holdings Ltd, which is now jointly owned by the Cherry family and the Bank of Scotland
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...
, part of Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group plc is a major British financial institution, formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. As at February 2010, HM Treasury held a 41% shareholding through UK Financial Investments Limited . The Group headquarters is located at 25 Gresham Street in London, with...
.
The company achieved record profits in the following two years, amounting to £27 million on a turnover of £430 million in the year ended September 2007.
However, the late-2000s financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
affected housebuilders acutely, and the company recorded a loss of £22 million on sales of £312 million in the year to September 2008. Its parent company Copthorn Holdings recorded a loss of £82 million for the year. Both companies published their accounts past the statutory deadline, after securing a refinancing deal in October 2009. Countryside's September 2009 results, filed in February 2010, showed turnover halved to £151 million and loss for the year doubled at £44 million. However, Countryside said the refinancing restored the company to a positive position and secured facilities for its development programme.
Examples of work
New developmentsGreat Notley Garden Village
Great Notley Garden Village
Great Notley Garden Village, or simply Great Notley is a suburban development, mostly by Countryside Properties on the fringe of Braintree, Essex in England with an approximate population of 5,500...
is an extension to the town of Braintree, Essex
Braintree, Essex
Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
, built over a decade starting in 1993. As well as almost 2,000 homes in three separate 'hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
', it has a primary school, church, community centre, doctors' surgery, supermarket, chip shop and village green. The Village is cited as an example of Countryside’s design philosophy of 'maturity' and 'community'.
Urban regeneration
Greenwich Millennium Village
Greenwich Millennium Village
The Greenwich Millennium Village is an innovative mixed-tenure modern housing estate on an urban village model located on the Greenwich Peninsula in Greenwich in south-east London, and part of the Millennium Communities Programme under English Partnerships...
Limited, a joint venture between Countryside and Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey plc is one of the largest British based housebuilding companies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
, won a government-initiated competition in February 1998 to transform the former site of Europe's largest gas works into a sustainable new community. It is one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe. The Village won a sustainability award at the RIBA Housing Design Awards and a Civic Trust Award in 2004. 1,095 homes had been completed by 2008, and further phases are planned.
In 2008, Guinness Trust
Guinness Trust
The Guinness Trust is the oldest member of the Guinness Partnership, a group of housing associations. It is a UK registered charity providing affordable housing....
chose Countryside in 2008 as contractor for regeneration of the Loughborough Park Estate in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, south London. The project includes replacing 390 homes built in the 1930s with 530 new homes and community facilities.
Awards
The company has won many awards. In 2008 its AccordiaAccordia
Accordia, also known as Accordia Living, is a housing development in Cambridge, England. The site includes 378 dwellings and has been constructed in three phases...
development in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
was the first housing scheme to win the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture. The same project had previously been the Overall Winner & Medium Housebuilder Winner of the RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Housing Design Award 2006, repeating the awards which the company had won in 2004 and 2005.