Developer / Housebuilder / Contractor
Good sites need
good decisions.
Need the next site? A scheme no longer stacking up? Or a contractor considering the move into development?
I’ve been in your shoes.
I’ve been the developer and the client, assembling teams, setting briefs and appointing consultants, lawyers and agents for the businesses I ran. I understand the responsibility of making the decisions and keeping a project moving. That experience shapes the practical support I bring to your development.
Bring the whole
picture into view.
From a handful of plots to a major residential masterplan, land, cost, funding and delivery decisions affect one another. Graham brings development, housebuilding and banking experience to the same conversation, whether the issue is one site or priorities across the business.
Business advice grounded in experience
I’ve been in your shoes as a business leader.
I’ve led businesses, dealt with people issues and worked closely with my finance director to manage cash, prepare board packs and report to banks and investors. I understand the responsibility behind those decisions and bring that experience to helping you work through the pressures facing your business.
For contractors
You know how to build.
Should you develop?
Moving from contractor to developer changes the risks you carry. Start by exploring the options before committing land, capital or the wider business.
GBR helps compare land opportunities, mainstream residential development and affordable housing routes, including partnerships and joint ventures. Test viability, funding, planning, delivery capacity and the route to sale or a housing partner.
The aim is to identify and reduce avoidable risk, set clear decision points and establish whether development fits your business. An initial options review can be enough to decide what deserves further work.
Where GBR can help
From opportunity
to exit.
01
Finding the next opportunity
A busy pipeline is not always a good pipeline. Define what fits the business, review the sites already in play and focus the search. GBR can help identify opportunities, negotiate land acquisitions and shape partnerships.
02
Making a scheme work
When costs, values or delivery assumptions change, the answer is rarely in one spreadsheet cell. Test the appraisal, interrogate viability and consider changes to product, phasing, tenure or affordable housing strategy.
03
Structuring the funding
Bring the development strategy, financial model and funding requirement into line. Explore the role of debt, equity, joint ventures and partnerships, with a credible proposition for the people taking the risk.
04
Keeping delivery on course
Add experienced senior capacity without adding another permanent director. GBR can support development management, consultant coordination, project oversight, governance and clear board reporting.
05
Planning the exit
Sales and exit decisions belong in the strategy from the start. Consider the buyer, timing and route to market alongside cash flow, delivery and the next opportunity.
In practice
Project decisions.
Business perspective.
Commercial Development — Aberdeenshire
The challenge
The client needed to establish whether a commercial development opportunity was viable, then put the right people, terms and process in place to move it forward.
What GBR did
GBR began with financial appraisal and viability testing. The instruction expanded into helping assemble the professional team, including tendering for architectural, legal, engineering, quantity surveying and agency services. Graham also negotiated heads of terms, oversaw the legal process and supported progression through to planning submission.
The value
The client gained continuity from the initial commercial assessment through team selection, negotiations and the planning submission stage. What began as a viability review became broader support to turn the opportunity into a coordinated project. Further client support is planned as the project advances.
SME Housebuilder — Scotland
The challenge
An SME housebuilder was considering several live land and development opportunities alongside existing projects. The directors needed to connect individual decisions with acquisition timing, cash requirements and priorities across the business.
What GBR did
GBR worked through the opportunities with the directors, reviewed proposed land-deal structures and prepared buyer-side heads of terms. Advisory discussions connected appraisal information, funding questions and delivery dependencies across the pipeline, identifying the inputs needed for the next decisions.
The value
This brought immediate commercial questions and follow-up actions into one view, distinguishing the matters needing negotiation from those requiring further appraisal or funding information. It gave the next stage of discussions a clearer focus across the business, rather than treating every opportunity in isolation.
Have a scheme you want to sense-check?
You don’t need a fully formed brief. Start with a conversation.