Stephen Phillips was a client of the solicitors’ firm of Roy Blunt and Johnstone, and he lent them money in 1847. In 1848 Richard Roy sold Phillips the leases of 10 acres of land north of Lansdowne Crescent. This was mainly on the north-west of the estate, quite close to the Potteries.
(This was the land to which Roy was entitled to leases at a peppercorn rent, having already fulfilled his commitment for ground rent to Ladbroke by the houses already built). Phillips bought the freehold of the land from Felix Ladbroke in 1850.
Phillips employed William King, an Islington architect, to design most of his houses. Phillips was already an experienced builder with developments in Islington and Paddington under his belt. He granted leases on to other builders at improved ground rents, which provided him with a significant profit. His speculation in the Ladbroke estate was completed successfully by 1861. Since his land was hardly prime it goes to show that success or failure as a Victorian property developer depended mainly on the business sense of the developer, not the vagaries of the market.