New name marks 10 year collaboration
From the 1st January 2008 Kent based commercial developer Scarborough & Benchmark Estates has re-branded as Valad and Benchmark Estates following the £685m acquisition by Valad Property Group of Scarborough Development Group Plc in July last year.
Valad is an Australian property fund manager and now has 24 offices worldwide with over £8.5 billion funds under active management. "Valad's property ethos is a perfect fit with Scarborough's existing joint ventures" says Didier Tandy, Valad's Development Director and we are keen to continue an active role in VBE identifying new development opportunities in the South East through our long standing joint venture with John Hawkins's company Benchmark Realty Ltd.
In the 10 years since the original J.V. was formed, the company has successfully developed over £31m of projects ranging from A3 to Day Nursery and industrial to offices.
The re-branding is timed to coincide with the purchase of the company's largest project to date which is Link Enterprise Park, a 24 acre extension to an existing business park at Lympne close to Junction 11 of the M20. The company have just submitted detailed planning consent for a 43,000 sq ft first phase of industrial units ranging from 1,250-3,800 sq ft to be known as Ridgepoint and are discussing design and build sales which would account for another 10 acres.
Commenting on the new launch, VBE Managing Director John Hawkins says that continued use of the company's familiar logo will remind people of the firm's heritage and that 2008 will be an exciting year with the focus on producing quality buildings that suit owner occupiers' needs.
