I’m a property developer – here’s why I’m still building in London
Today’s housing market is hampered by higher interest rates, build cost inflation, weaker sales and headlines about war in the Middle East and Ukraine.
But residential development has always been about managing cycles: with many projects taking more than a decade from conception through planning, construction to handing over the key to new homes.
Property developments starting construction now will not be finished until 2029, by which time the interest rate environment may be very different, home-buying should have picked up and hopefully, the global state of affairs will have stabilised.
Some of the most successful property developments have been commenced at the bottom of the market, with a view to selling into a stronger economy when sentiment is better.
By contrast, many property developers who started on site at the top of the market, hailing a “new paradigm” that said property market cycles had been eliminated have hit trouble when the economy has cooled off.
With a collapse in housing starts in London – only 4,770 homes were started in the capital in 2024-2025: a drop of 72 per cent on the previous year – there is a strong argument that now is the perfect time to start building in the capital.
London is suffering from a structural shortage of homes, and by 2029 given very few starts being planned in the next three years, this situation will only get worse
.
I can understand why many developers have paused or slowed down construction: materials and labour costs have soared by 20-30 per cent in the last five years and swathes of new regulations and taxes mean spending millions on a new property development is a very bold move.
But because we have confidence in London in the long term, Ballymore, our joint venture partner Penta Real Estate and our lenders have started construction on developments in Canary Wharf, Nine Elms and Battersea with a total investment of £750m.
At difficult times in the market like this, we need to remind ourselves of London’s exceptional position as a global driving force. It is a truly global financial centre, with the City of London generating £109bn in annual economic output – roughly four per cent of the national figure. It is home to some of the world’s best universities, with Imperial College, University College London, London School of Economics and King’s College London ranked among the world’s best educational establishments. And let’s not forget its immense cultural footprint, being home to the Royal Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall, the Southbank Centre, Tate Britain, Tate Modern and Barbican Centre.
Frankfurt has a financial centre; Boston has great universities; Amsterdam has strong international connections and Paris has a powerful cultural heartbeat. But there are few cities that can attest to having it all.
Canary Wharf is the future
I would argue that London is the only city in the world with this unique combination – and any competitor would take decades to catch up.
One of our developments being delivered in 2029, 25 Cuba, is a 52-story residential tower in Canary Wharf in a borough where according to global property advisors JLL housing starts have fallen even more sharply than in the rest of London: 91 per cent over the last decade.
Canary Wharf’s own renaissance has been remarkable: having once been seen as a finance hub, it is now a place where big businesses and start-ups co-exist – but alongside new apartment buildings and some of the busiest and best shops, apartments and restaurants in Europe.
25 Cuba is designed to tap into the lifestyle of London’s ambitious people in Canary Wharf and further afield. There is a new generation of London ‘strivers’ who live a 24/7 lifestyle, often with entrepreneurial ventures outside their nine to five. It has been designed for a new generation of Londoners whose homes need to support not only their careers but increasingly flexible and entrepreneurial ways of working.
A new survey of more than 1,000 prospective London home-buyers by More in Common commissioned by the team behind 25 Cuba has found that four in five are doing something entrepreneurial outside their main job – 47 per cent of these people are investing, 37 per cent are freelancing in some form and 27 per cent are involved with content creation, with 23 per cent running their own business.
In fact, More in Common’s polling shows that almost half of people rank a home that supports their ambition and goals among their top two priorities.
And far from seeing their entrepreneurialism dimmed, almost a quarter of those polled earn more than £10,000 a year outside their main job.
It is why at 25 Cuba will have content studios for people to record podcasts, social hubs, spaces to encourage collaboration and wellbeing areas for people who need balance in their daily routine.
The available homes for sale in London now will be long sold when 25 Cuba completes, and people will still need great places to live.
We believe strongly in Canary Wharf and London as a whole. Commencing residential development in the capital now – and investing in real estate at this time – we think will deliver strong rewards that come from investing at the bottom of a cycle.
John Mulryan is UK Chief Executive Officer at Ballymore