London house prices: the new Islington complex where a one-bed flat costs £715,000 – in pictures

Apartments at the new development will be finished to a “high standard and outstanding specification” and start from £715,000 rising up to as much as £1.79 million.

Islington Square Entrance (Lawrie Cornish)

How not to solve the housing crisis: build a complex of 263 one, two and three-bedroom flats in Islington and put them on the market for at least £715,000 a pop.

That’s what’s about to happen in Islington Square, the new £400 million development on the old site of the London Royal Mail Centre off Upper Street.

The Islington Square complex unveiled this week has been developed by Sager Group, which was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Sagir Bin Mohammed Bin Sagir Al Qassime of the United Arab Emirates and CEO Giris Rabinovitchin, in association with Cain Hoy.

The company has promised a mixture of both private and “affordable” housing.

Apartments at the new development will be finished to a “high standard and outstanding specification” and start from £715,000 rising up to as much as £1.79 million.

Sager said a range of one, two and three bedroom apartments will be available, along with penthouses and maisonettes, although the exact dimension of the properties is yet to be revealed.

Giris Rabinovitch, CEO of Sager Group commented described the venture as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new destination for London”.

The 500,000 square foot site will be opened up to the public this Thursday for the first time.

Sager is then hosting a glitzy four-day sales event, including a street food market as well as a pop up cinema, between Friday December 4 and Sunday December 6, to try and tempt buyers.

VIP celebrities expected to attend the ‘Dubai style’ launch include comedians Richard Herring, Joel Dommet and Imran Yusuf among others.

Sager Group focus will remain on Islington Square until post launch and development is more progressed. Then the company will look for other projects to undertake in London.

Sager Group first purchased the Royal Mail complex back in 2003 for £30 million, however once complete the project will have a value of over £400 million

At present, first occupations of completed homes at islington Square are anticipated for early 2017, the overall project is scheduled for final completion in late 2017.