Britain’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, has revealed that it is considering moving into housing development.
The company owns large areas of land in the UK that, taken together, are worth £20.8 billion. In the face of increasing competition from supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi, Tesco has decided to use its land to build homes rather than food stores.
It is thought that Tesco will build new houses mainly in the South East of the UK, particularly in the London area, where prices have been increasing recently. The number of people buying a house for the first time reached its highest level since 2007 earlier this year; as the housing market hit its peak in 2007 before the financial crisis took hold, this could seem remarkable. However, the number of first-time buyers has been boosted largely due to the Help to Buy scheme introduced by the Government in 2013.
A Tesco spokesperson said that the company’s new venture is a:
“[…] response to changing customer shopping habits.”
The firm has decided to build fewer big supermarkets as part of a drive to cut the amount of store space it constructs each year. Sites that are not being developed will be either sold, leased, or used to build houses.
As buying a home becomes more difficult for many in the UK, the thought of being able to purchase a house from Tesco might seem appealing. However, it can be tricky to obtain the mortgage you need and, throughout the UK, more people are attending CeMAP training courses to satisfy the demand for professional advice.
