Housebuilder Lovell has pulled out of bidding for a £900m 2000-home regeneration project in Brent, north London.

The decision comes two weeks after it was dropped as preferred bidder on a 500-home PFI project in Derbyshire when the council decided it could not afford the scheme.

For its Brent scheme bid, Lovell was part of the Compendium consortium with Riverside Housing Group. The remaining bidders include Genesis Housing Group with Crest Nicholson and Hyde Housing Group with Bellway.

Mary Lynch, director of strategy at Lovell, said: “We have withdrawn after consulting Brent and South Kilburn New Deal for Communities. It is for commercial reasons.”

Lynch denied that the decision was connected to the scheme in north-east Derbyshire, where the company is considering pressing the council to reimburse at least some of its £3m costs.

Martin Cheeseman, director of housing at Brent council, said: “Even if there was another drop-out we are confident we will still end up with a strong delivery team.”

The winning bidder will replace the 1800 homes with 1300 units of social housing with a further 700 for sale to subsidise the scheme.