Greystar and Henderson Park have exchanged contracts with Tide Construction to acquire the 550-apartment residential development in Croydon, London.

On completion, the 101 George Street development will comprise two of the world’s tallest towers built using modular construction, at 44-storeys and 38-storeys.

The site has full planning permission and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

Enabling works for the twin tower scheme are already underway at the Essex House site in East Croydon.

The towers scheme, drawn up by HT Design, will be worth over £150m and will be a trailblazer for modular construction methods.

Presently, the tallest prefabricated building in the world is a 32-storey block in New York.

Tide is both a development and contracting company, and has delivered several projects in recent years using its off-site manufacturing system, Vision Modular Systems.

101 George Street is the fourth project Greystar and Tide Construction have delivered and, once complete, will bring the total number of units the partnership has delivered in London to 1,700 units.

Christy Hayes, CEO of Tide Construction, said: “The towers of 101 George Street will stand tall as testimony to the potential of modular construction within the UK and beyond.

“Modular construction is highly suited to rental developments as investors and operators can welcome residents into their homes sooner and open the revenue streams earlier.”

The modules will be shipped from a factory in Bedford with the electricity prewired and plumbing, furniture and windows already installed.

The total build time for the project will take just 24 months, from construction starting to residents moving in to their new homes.

Troy Tomasik, Greystar Managing Director, Investments, said: “This is an ambitious development and an exciting milestone for Greystar which signals our commitment to finding innovative solutions to London’s housing challenge.”