Entrepreneur Johnny Sandelson is Changing the Face and Façades of Britain–One Building at a Time

Dec. 22, 2011 - PRLog -- British businessman and property entrepreneur, Johnny Sandelson has been involved in some of the UK’s most innovative and successful projects - notably the £250 million Carlyon Bay development programme in Cornwall. The award-winning real estate developer was instrumental in unlocking one of the most complex planning negotiations seen in the West Country.

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In June 2011, the Cornwall Council’s strategic planning committee offered unanimous support for a new luxury beach resort development on Carlyon Bay. The vote brought an end to an over 20-year development battle involving stalled negotiations, public inquiries and legal action. The original planning for the property – the redevelopment of a derelict Cornwall Coliseum in St Austell – began in 1990 with the proposal of 500 new homes.  After over a decade of legal wrangling, UK businessman and property entrepreneur Johnny Sandelson, the then CEO of Ampersand Group, purchased the property and conceived of a grand beachfront resort on the cliffs overlooking Carlyon Bay.

Originally the project was met with mixed opinion from the residents of St Austell and required Sandelson to engage local stakeholders to drum up support for the project.  Sandelson assembled a team of consultants, engineers, designers, hoteliers and environmental experts to tackle the challenge of designing the mixed use development. However, despite his resignation as CEO of Ampersand in 2004, he retained a significant financial interest in the project. Ampersand partnered with the Commercial Estates Group (CEG) to shepherd the project forward.  

The resort, which has a gross domestic value of £250 million, is one of the largest private property investments in Cornwall.  In addition to the proposed 511 luxury residential units, development plans now include shops, cafés, recreational and health facilities and a sea wall defence system – which has already received Environment Agency approval.  The property will stretch from Crinnis Beach to Shorthorn and Polgraver Beaches in the St Austell area.

Johnny Sandelson is renowned for his ability to identify opportunities and optimise development potential. On numerous occasions he has successfully led large teams of professionals to unlock complex multi-use schemes. In 2007, Johnny Sandelson received the Caradon Design Award for Best Overall Scheme in New Housing Category for the development of Pencalenick House, a modernist hideaway on the Fowey estuary. The scheme was designed by London-based architect Seth Stein. Surrounded by a stretch of National Trust land, Pencalenick House was created to encourage escapism and offer tranquillity. It stands as a remote cove beyond the estuary and its constant stream of passing boats. Property experts have described the resort as an example of ‘contemporary and ecologically sound architecture’.

Situated in ‘du Maurier country’, just a short distance along the creek from where Daphne du Maurier was inspired to write her first novel, The Loving Spirit, Pencalenick House overlooks the same awe-inspiring landscape.  Fowey is famed for its cobbled streets and Cornish charm in which modern architecture is seldom seen. However, having purchased the land in 2000 after a fierce bidding war, Sandelson commissioned contemporary designer Stein to build “a family home with a difference”. Stein fashioned a property boasting style, elegance and modish touches, with a keen sensitivity to its surroundings.

The Caradon Design Award was recognition of the dwelling’s extraordinary features and nuanced feel. Sandelson was tipped off by a local agent about the six-acre plot. Despite planning consent being granted years earlier for a slightly more modest development proposal its sheltered location made it possible to conceive grander designs. It took more than four years for Sandelson to obtain planning consent, following complex negotiation. However the countryside getaway is now acknowledged as one of the leading holiday homes in the UK, and was shortlisted for a Royal Institute of British Architect (RIBA) award in 2008.

Pencalenick House has five double en-suite bedrooms and two smaller bedrooms. Each has a chic minimalist design, with stylish furnishings and a clean colour scheme. A large glass sliding door sits at the face of the house to summon guests into the 40ft living area. Pencalenick House was designed to capture natural light through its acute use of open-plan space. Pencalenick House is currently available for £2,500 a day, although that price is for 16 people and is inclusive of food, boat, staff et al. Apart from the seven bedrooms, guests get the run of the office, the treatment room, the roof terrace and the family room – complete with table football.

Johnny Sandelson is steadily building a strong investment portfolio in Cornwall and along the South Coast of England. Since 2009, Sandelson has been working with Bruneian partners to establish a fund focussing on British iconic and strategic assets with numerous property transactions in Oxford and Bath including a joint venture with Blenheim Palace in October 2011.