Our team of residential development experts understands the importance of identifying the potential value in your residential development site and will work with you to maximise the realisation of this with your objectives in mind.
We are experienced in advising on the development of residential and mixed-use schemes across the UK and work closely with landowners and property developers of all sizes, and their professional teams, to advise on the feasibility of residential developments, including how to achieve a successful outcome.
Our people, your partners
We will harness the collective experience and market intelligence of our expert team at every stage of the development life cycle – from financial analysis and feasibility, to valuation, building consultancy, planning and project management, through to letting or sale.
“Our experience with Vail Williams and their team of development consultants has been excellent – a true partnership. It is also really useful that they have equally adept colleagues for areas like Planning, Building Consultancy, Property Asset Management and Agency – a truly integrated service.”
Nicki Becker, Western Europe, Reward, Property and Facilities Director, Molson Coors.
Land Sales
We have a significant track record of successful land sales across the UK, both large and small, extracting the best value in line with agreed timescales.
These range from the sale of small unit developments to working with a range of leading UK housebuilders, to the sale of listed buildings with consent for residential flats.
Our residential development experts understand the importance of structuring a disposal to suit your objectives.
This could be a traditional sale, either unconditional or linked to securing a satisfactory planning consent, but depending on the planning risk and associated costs, an alternative structure may be appropriate.
The planning position is material and often influences the best sale structure. We are experienced in ensuring marketing is undertaken to the right parties to ensure competitive tension, with a robust knowledge of the buyer pool and their reputation for performing.
We lead the marketing process and handle all queries, acting as the ’interface’ between all the potential buyers and you.
At offer stage, we set out a clear bid request ‘structure’ in line with your objectives and undertake technical and financial assessments so comparisons can be directly made between offers, bid assumptions are fully understood, and the best recommendation made.
Once Heads of Terms are settled, we liaise closely with you, your solicitor and other consultants, to undertake the ‘agency’ non-legal transaction management, ensuring a robust sale contract and an exchange of contracts as quickly as possible.
Development Agreements, Options and Promotion Agreements
In certain circumstances, an alternative sale structure should be explored and there are numerous sale structures beyond a traditional land sale.
Often as a developer, you may seek an Option, with obligations on you to undertake planning promotion, secure planning and retain the option to acquire the land based on a market value mechanism.
However, in some circumstances, a Promotion Agreement could extract a higher value. This can be the case if planning is secured and the land is sold on the open market with associated competition from buyers, where the promoter will take a fee for taking on the planning risk.
A hybrid agreement may be suitable for some, and personal tax circumstances may also influence matters, perhaps a bespoke development agreement which could deliver a mixture of capital receipt and dwellings to be retained?
Vail Williams can guide you through the options, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each, to enable you to make an informed decision and proceed in the best way to suit your objectives.
Development Consultancy
We are experienced in advising on the development of residential and mixed-use schemes across the UK and work closely with landowners and property developers of all sizes, and their professional teams.
Our advice spans feasibility and optimum mix through to development agreements and disposal options, where we deal with the complexities of multiple party interests and site constraints, to see your project through from inception to completion.
The costs associated with securing a deliverable planning consent can be significant, and we are very experienced in undertaking site assessments, covering development mix and tenure, including mixed use schemes, to ensure the optimum layout.
We can also undertake complex financial modelling utilising Argus software, and assess financial sensitivities and development risk, market conditions and appraisal input variables, to inform your strategy.
We will harness our collective experience and market intelligence as a team at every stage of the development cycle – from financial analysis, to valuation, planning, and project management, through to eventual sale, ensuring the best price is obtained.
Financial Viability Assessment
We provide expert development viability advice to developers and local authorities across the UK.
We work with clients on development viability, particularly through the planning application process, to ensure that development and regeneration proposals deliver appropriate Affordable Housing provision and developer contributions generally. Our advice informs the terms of Section 106 agreements.
As well as advising at the planning application stage, we also work with clients on planning appeals, including the provision of expert evidence at Public Inquiries.
We also advise developers on the viability aspects of Local Plan site allocations.
Our development viability work covers a broad range of development scenarios, from large-scale housing allocations comprising thousands of new homes and complex town centre regeneration schemes to listed building conversions and ‘super-prime’ central London housing.
Clients include national and regional housebuilders, commercial developers, landowners and local authorities.
Get in touch
Whether you’re an educational institution, local authority or developer, our team of industrial property experts have your education property needs covered.
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