John Lewis has announced the first three locations for its rental home developments.

The retail group announced in 2020 its intentions to become a private landlord with a view to diversifying its revenue streams, by building a community of rental properties around its retail stores.

The proposed sites will build over Waitrose stores in Bromley and West Ealing in Greater London and replace a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Mill Lane, Reading.

John Lewis has stated its target of delivering 10,000 homes in the next ten years - 5,000 of which will come from schemes on the retailer’s own property portfolio and with 40 per cent of profits anticipated to come from outside retail by 2030.

The properties will be built for different sized households and residents will have the option for short and long-term tenure and to have their homes furnished by John Lewis.

Nina Bhatia, executive director for strategy and commercial development at John Lewis, said: “Everything people love about our brand - quality, trust and service - we want to bring to the experience of renting a home with us.

“Our role as developer and operator, as well as an already established local business and employer, signals our ambition to bring long-term value to each of these communities. Helping to create homes has always been at the heart of what we do and we now have a unique opportunity to use our expertise and skills in new ways to deliver much-needed new housing.”

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