appraisals and viability
Stage 3 development appraisals: gross development value forecasting, build cost budgeting, residual valuation, existing-use value and sensitivity analysis. The output is a number you can take to a lender, not an opinion.
Development and investment advisory
work on a deal that is not ours.
Investors, developers and operators bring us in on their own transactions. It is the same work we do on our own assets — finding the site, proving the numbers, taking it through planning and running the build — sold as a defined engagement. Mandates run across Georgia, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.
deal structuring and negotiation
Structuring acquisition or lease terms, drafting heads of terms, and negotiating with owners, landlords and their advisers through to signed terms. Where it fits, control before capital: options, promotion agreements, delayed completion.
development management
Briefing and coordinating architects, surveyors, lawyers and contractors; monthly progress reviews, risk mitigation and cost control through to practical completion.
planning strategy and exit
Managing the consent process to raise land value and optimise net saleable area, then executing the disposal strategy so the profit is actually realised rather than modelled.
- Strategic market analysisDistrict-by-district evaluation of residential and commercial sub-markets; benchmarking of rental yields, capital growth and liquidity; assessment of local planning policy and the regulatory framework.
- Site identification and location assessmentAn occupancy brief for the specific use, then screening of on- and off-market premises with demographic, accessibility and catchment assessment.
- Off-market sourcing and acquisition strategyIdentification and analysis of high-potential residential and commercial opportunities that are not on the open market.
- Technical, legal and planning due diligenceBuilding condition, structural capacity and services; verification of title, permitted use and any change-of-use or regulatory consent required.
- Space planning and sketch scheme testingTest-fit schemes assessing each candidate property against the functional layout, user flow and licensing requirements.
- Financial engineering and residual valuationAcquisition and fit-out cost modelling, total cost of occupancy, investment viability and residual land value.
- International portfolio oversightAnnual strategic review of assets across the UK and Czech markets, focused on capital appreciation and risk-weighted returns.
- Professional team coordination and reportingBriefing lawyers, architects and surveyors, with a consolidated recommendations report and ongoing acquisition advisory.
Method
most of the money is decided before anyone digs.
Development runs in three stages — land, planning and design, and build — and the risk, time and capital required climb steeply across them. The build stage is the most expensive and the least forgiving. The stage where value is actually created is the one before it.
So we work the first two hard. A site is only worth what is left after you subtract build costs, fees, finance and a target profit from what the finished scheme will sell for. That residual is the land value, and it moves enormously depending on what consent the site carries. The gap between existing-use value and consented value — the planning uplift — is the thing worth spending time on.
It also means we would rather secure control of a site cheaply and add the value afterwards than pay full price for someone else’s planning work.
Residual valuation Existing-use value Planning uplift GDV forecasting Build cost budgeting Sensitivity analysis Net saleable area Off-market sourcing Land assembly Option agreements Promotion agreements Heads of terms Permitted development Change of use
The UK half of this discipline comes from the development programme our team works through at the Millbank Land Academy — site finding, appraisals and build costs, landowner negotiation, option agreements and land assemblies, permitted development. The Georgian and Czech half comes from doing it on our own buildings.
How an engagement runs
seven steps, priced separately, in this order.
This is the shape of a full acquisition mandate. Shorter briefs take the first two or three steps only — a desktop study and an expert opinion is a perfectly normal place to stop.
01
site identification and location assessment
We write the occupancy brief for your use, then screen on- and off-market premises against demography, accessibility and catchment.
02
market research and comparable evidence
Benchmarking purchase and rental values per square metre against real comparables, to establish fair pricing for each shortlisted property.
03
existing-use and feasibility appraisal
Existing-use value plus a feasibility appraisal covering acquisition, fit-out and total cost of occupancy for each shortlisted property.
04
technical, legal and planning due diligence
Condition, structure and services; title, permitted use, and any change-of-use or regulatory consent the operation will need.
05
space planning and sketch scheme testing
Test-fit sketch schemes measuring each candidate against your functional layout, user flow and licensing requirements.
06
negotiation and deal structuring
Acquisition or lease terms, heads of terms, and negotiation with owners, landlords and their advisers through to agreed and signed terms.
07
professional team coordination and reporting
Briefing and coordinating lawyers, architects and surveyors, with one consolidated recommendations report and advisory through completion.
How engagements are structured
three ways owners work with us.
management mandate
We run the asset day to day for a share of net income. Used on the residential and short-stay portfolio.
master lease
We take the whole space on a long lease, carry the vacancy risk and sublet it. Used on the Rustaveli commercial asset.
advisory retainer
A defined scope of analysis, sourcing or development management, priced per engagement or as an annual retainer.
Which one fits depends on the asset and on how much of the risk you want to keep. Tell us what you own and we will say plainly which of the three we would propose.