10 October 2008
Agency Success in Turbulent Times

During a period of financially turbulent times and when house building seems to have virtually ground to a halt, Savills Oxford has secured the sale of a 14.68 acre residential development site with outline planning permission for 168 dwellings in Yarnton, Oxfordshire, at a price of around the £11m mark.

Ten offers were received, following a marketing campaign to a short list of developers in April 2008. The successful purchaser, Berkeley Homes, simultaneously exchanged and completed on 17 September 2008.

William Donger and Jason Hill of Savills were instructed to act for the vendors at the back end of 1997 and have spent the last ten years, in conjunction with the vendor’s planning consultant (formally a Savills employee) promoting the site, which was located in the green belt, for residential development and subsequently obtaining an outline planning permission. The planning process was not without its difficulties though. The first application was refused in March 2007 on the grounds that rare grasses may potentially be present on site; this issue was overcome and outline planning consent was eventually granted in February 2008 following protracted negotiations on the S.106 agreement.

Shelley Stephenson, of Savills Oxford Development Land and Valuation team, who assisted in the sale of the site, comments: “Bearing in mind the uncertain times we find ourselves operating in, we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this sale, as are our clients. There is still a good level of interest for the right product in the right location, mainly from private developers but also a few of the nationals. The key, in these challenging times, to ensuring a swift exchange and completion of a sale is the provision of a comprehensive sales pack during the marketing period, which limits the ability for the buyer to try and re-negotiate and delay”.

The site will generate for Savills Oxford Development Land and New Homes teams total fees in excess of £300,000.