Image source, Getty ImagesByMitchell LabiakBusiness reporterPublished25 February 2026 Retailer John Lewis is closing down its housebuilding business, scrapping plans to build 1,000 homes across three sites. It cited higher borrowing and building costs than when it first started expanding into residential development in 2020. It is also pulling out of property management, and will close that business when its contracts with four residential buildings end. The employee-owned firm said it is instead focusing on its retail brands, John Lewis and Waitrose, to simplify its business and strengthen its balance sheet. John Lewis began its push into housebuilding as a new way to bring in money but has struggled with what it said was a "fundamental shift in the economic conditions that underpinned the venture when it launched". "Our rental property ambition was based on a very different financial environment: one with more stable investment returns, lower borrowing costs, and more affordable costs to build homes," a spokesperson said.
Published: February 25, 2026 5:14 pm
Source: BBC — Read original