OakNorth – the digital bank for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, has provided a £48.3m loan to London based Vabel, to develop a major new mixed-use scheme at 28-34 Queensway in West London. In addition to 27 new homes, the development will offer a 24-hour concierge, fully landscaped residents communal gardens with outdoor seating and water features, as well as 251 sqm of retail at ground level. The project is scheduled to complete by Q4 2025.
In addition to Vabel’s uniquely integrated process, it is also sets itself apart through its considerate construction approach, building homes with renewable technologies, such as: LED lights which save up to 90% energy compared to a traditional bulb, aerated taps to reduce water flow and cut water usage, heat recovery ventilation systems to circulate fresh filtered air, solar panels to generate renewable energy, and thermally efficient glazing, zonal underfloor heating, and air source heat pumps to control room and water temperatures more efficiently. Its development in Blackheath will be its first to have a ground source heat pump system, enabling the building to extract heat from the ground and use it to heat the underfloor heating systems and water. Where possible, the team also recycle building materials such as bricks and use lime mortar, which has a much longer lifespan than cement and absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere during its curing process, as well as aim to retain existing building fabric where possible.
About Vabel: Founded in 2009 by Daniel Baliti and Jeremy Spencer, Vabel set out to do things differently with a vision to revolutionise the quality of new build homes and how they’re conceptualised, designed and built. Today, the business has a team of approximately 40 people – including in-house architects, interior designers, project managers and construction managers – all of whom work under one roof, collaborating within an innovative and powerful operating model.