Our History
The Sunley Group is a 3rd generation family owned private property company founded by Bernard Sunley.
Like many entrepreneurs in a hurry Bernard Sunley left school at the age of 16 to build an empire: from landscape contracting, tennis courts and returfing The Arsenal Football Club, in the early days, to the construction of over 100 runways during the Second World War.
By the time of his early death in 1964, aged 54, Bernard had built up two public companies, Bernard Sunley Investment Trust (construction, housing and property), and Blackwood Hodge (diggers and dumpers); and nurtured his greatest legacy The Bernard Sunley Foundation which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020.
The businesses were eventually sold, Bernard's only son John then establishing the private Sunley Holdings Group in 1979 which is now headed by his son James.
During the last forty years the company has been active in all areas of real estate investment and development including student housing in London, office projects in London and New York, the development of Lake Nona Golf Club in Florida, the genesis of Industrial Ownership, the planning, promotion and construction of thousands of homes throughout south east England. The group provides mezzanine finance to other developers and also has a portfolio of non property early stage investments.
