Islington Council has issued a preliminary market engagement notice signaling the council’s intention to seek a development partner to work with on a large-scale housing delivery programme. Rather than being a formal invitation to bid, it is part of early engagement with the market to inform future procurement activity. The council intends to establish an overarching partnering agreement with one or more developers for the delivery of a multi-site housing portfolio in the borough of Islington in London. 

The portfolio is currently expected to include approximately 3–7 sites, each focused primarily on residential development. The Council’s main ambition is to maximise the delivery of genuinely affordable homes in the borough, using the value of the land itself to help fund their creation. The estimated gross development value for all sites combined is around £500 million (US$670 million), indicating a very significant investment in new housing. The overarching partnership is expected to run for about 10 years (from February 2027 to February 2037), reflecting the long-term nature of the housing delivery programme. 

Before publishing this notice, the council and its advisers carried out market engagement from April 2025 through February 2026 to gather insight from developers, understand market capacity and sentiment, and test interest in the opportunity. This included presentations, follow-up discussions, and summary feedback with participating organisations. Because this is a UK2 preliminary market engagement notice, it doesn’t yet require full tender submissions. It is intended to inform and prepare suppliers for the forthcoming formal procurement stage. The notice includes an estimated publication date of 16 March 2026 for the formal tender notice, where interested parties will be invited to submit detailed proposals.