Show Notes
In this episode, Paul sits down with property developers Phill Williams and James Emmons to discuss the issues that are preventing SMEs from building new homes in the UK. Including some of the things that can be done to mitigate the risks that are making this problem worse.
Paul also shares the details of a new piece of software he is creating to help developers very quickly identify whether a site is financially viable or not.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The chance to develop on the grey belt is a once in a lifetime opportunity for developers.
Planning in the UK is so slow and complicated that most SMEs can no longer build. They don´t have the skills to get through planning or the necessary cashflow.
Dodgy lenders are actively feeding off of the complexity of the UK´s building system.
Some lenders deliberately withhold funds at crucial drawdown points, knowing that the developer will no longer be able to fund the deal. The lender then takes it off of them and makes the money themselves.
Often, inexperienced developers make the deal, only to realize later they missed something, and the numbers don’t stack up.
Affordability is the big elephant in the room – when sales are too slow the risk for the developer becomes too high.
Per sq. ft build costs has reached the point where in some parts of the country, especially where property prices are low, there is no way to make a profit.
BEST MOMENTS
“Someone has got to de-risk and create the opportunities for other smaller developers to build.”
“Stacking the schemes correctly is absolutely crucial.”
“Modular, in my opinion, isn’t going to be the main thing that solves the housing crisis.”
“Modular manufacturers don’t really understand the land and planning market well enough.”
“Partial funding to mitigate or share risk, I think is a way forward.”
“Coming up with the scheme that's going to maximize land values is really the art of property
development.”
“It's really important to pay good tradespeople on time and pay them fair rates.”
EPISODE RESOURCES
Land Economics episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/land-economics- 101/id1750859336?i=1000711086989
ABOUT THE HOST
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years & experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt
Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know!
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
More from Inside Property Development
In this episode, Paul once again sits down with David Birbeck, one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to planning and development. Together, they discuss the government´s new draft Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) and how it should work in practice.
In this episode, Paul sits down with Lucas, a recent Bristol civil engineering graduate, who is considering becoming a property developer. Together, they discuss why everything in development starts with finding and controlling land, how planning policy has evolved to make that both harder and more crucial, and why today’s planning environment might actually be one of the best times to get into development despite a tough sales market.
In this episode Paul is joined by Steve Morris the co-founder and Managing Director of Linfield Construction, to discuss the viability of building a property development business later in life – especially if you come from a contracting and commercial background rather than following the more typical pure developer route.
Today, Paul sits down with former Wandsworth councillor and Pocket Living land director and the Managing Director and founder of Urban Sketch Nick Cuff. Drawing on his rare mix of political and development experience, Nick explains what a genuinely pro‑development culture looks like, and why most UK councils are not pro-development.
How can architects and developers work together to deliver projects that are financially viable, genuinely regenerative – create schemes like this that actually get built as planned?