The Morritt Factor

It is hard to imagine an East End without the charm of Morritt’s. Take a drive out East, and you can’t miss the resort’s colourful billboards, warmly announcing that you are “home”. Indeed, this keen understanding of home and family is precisely what Morritt’s does best.

This is not surprising. After all, the story of Morritt’s is a tale of a small family business with big ideas and boundless spirit. Or, as some call it – the Morritt Factor.

Keep calm and carry on

The year was 1947. The Second World War was over, and the UK had a major housing crisis on its hands. Entire neighbourhoods had been damaged by German bombing, so new houses were desperately in need. Realising the gravity of the situation, the UK government quickly enacted policies that would launch British building into a post-war boom.

This was an era driven by innovation and ideas– both of which inspired a London plumber named George Morritt. Swept up in the nation’s quest to re-build itself, George too decided that he would help restore London, and thus, Morritt Properties was born.

A father and son

By the early 60s, George had developed a sizable portfolio of properties when his son David entered the picture. As a youngster, David had an innate grasp of the property world, diving head-first into the family business with ease.

It was at this point however that land was becoming scarce in London, and yet David had an idea. Noticing that many of the older terraced houses had large gardens, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he could purchase them. This would give him the land he needed to build more homes, utilising the alley space as an entrance. It was a plan so crazy that it just might work.

And work it did. Morritt Properties found great success in these ‘garden homes’, and David would continue expanding the company’s developments into the outskirts of London.

First London, next the world

David loved England, but he dreamed of far-flung, exotic paradises and sun-drenched beaches. His talent for expansion led him to Florida in 1988, where he learned of a beautiful island called Grand Cayman. Intrigued, David decided to “pop down and have a look”. This would be the start of the Morritt’s we all know and love today.

Never one to sit idly by, it wasn’t long before David was on to the next milestone. In 2019, he landed in Mont-Tremblant, Canada, and soon after he was proudly announcing his grand opening of Château Morritt.

It has been 75 years since George Morritt took that first bold step into launching his family’s business. Of course, in true David fashion, he says the adventure is just getting started. Time will tell where David goes next, but one thing is for sure – the Morritt Factor is not going anywhere.