Our Approach

Our approach is guided by three stages.

First, we seek to identify development potential and opportunity to add value with our creativity, experience and industry knowledge. If you are unaware of your properties hidden value then we want to make sure that you don’t pass it up.

Second, we are here to offer free advise and educated opinions on what is best for your individual situation. We work with landowners and developers alike to provide feedback on design, layout and value at every project stage.

Third, we dispose of properties quickly and effectively be it on the open market or off-market within our extensive client base. Our pledge is that every vendor achieves what they want out of a sale and that they are not limited by a lack of understanding or creativity.

We help you to see hidden value, using our multidisciplinary experience we provide vendors with free planning and viability advice and purchasers with a constant supply of new off market land and development opportunities.

Side or rear gardens

If your property has a unused garage or a large garden with an additional access then why not look into its value. In many cases selling a portion of your garden will not detract from the value of your house. Don’t pass on the hidden value of your property to the next owner.

Sites with Planning Permission

Working with over 200 developers, contractors and small builders we always have our finger on the most competitive bidders in the market

Community space giftback

If your community facilities is tired and in need of an upgrade we have clients who will re-provide a purpose built new facility. Created to your organisations design and specification in addition to a capital sum. Secure your organisations long term home.

Flats next to houses

Our clients are happy to purchase sites on a Subject to Planning (STP) basis. Meaning that if you are willing to wait a few months you can be paid the value of the site with planning in place without any cost or expense to you.

If there is a new development on your road this planning precedent could unlock your property to be redeveloped.

Warehouses & workshops

Whether you are ready to close down the business and move or want to remain on site in the new building we can facilitate almost all business needs.

Refurbishments

If you don’t fancy doing the work we can still get top value for dilapidated buildings. We work with small builders and individuals who are always on the hunt for their next project.

Airspace

opportunities

We work closely with specialist airspace developers meaning you can sell your airspace rights for a large capital sum all with the need to move. Maximise your properties dead space.

Bungalows or

houses on

large plots

If your house sits within an oversized plot then you should be aware that the value of your property is not derived from the property itself but from the potential value of redeveloping the plot. This figure is often significantly over the existing use value and if not claimed by you will be by the next buyer of the property.

We work with partners who can offer you the giftback of a brand new property on the same site so that you can upgrade and stay where you love. All while freeing up some funds.

Brown & greenfield plots

If you have a parcel of land that you are not using then why not get an idea of its value. Our wide ranging client base are hungry for brownfield development sites and are willing to take a view on contamination, planning and access depending on the site.

We equally have many client who are interested in purchasing greenfield sites and farmland. Some client are happy to pay large deposits upfront for option & STP agreements.

Shops & uppers

We work with investors who are looking for dry, yield driven High Street investments. No matter the terms of the existing leases or if it is vacant our clients are happy to take on the most problematic of properties.

For a free assessment of the assets value please get in touch.

Our Landowners & Vendors

We appreciate that property is full of jargon. That’s why we are here to break down and simply explain the many options available to you and the industry terms.

Should you be interested in selling then the best option will depend on your your unique needs and situation.

Whether you are ready to move and want money now. Happy to wait for a few months to maximise the value of your property or wish to stay in place with a new residential property or commercial facility gifted back to you in addition to a capital fee, everything is possible.

We are here to advise you on the best structure tailored to your needs.

It is the role of our trained experts to listen and provide you with the positives and negatives of each structure and advise you on the best options available to your bespoke situation.

  • Speed & certainty - This is the fastest way to achieve a sale. The buyer agrees to purchase the site immediately, as it is now and they take on all risk and responsibility related to the site.

    Benefits

    • As funds are received upfront. If the buyer fails to achieve planning or finds an issue with the site after completion it is their risk & responsibility. You are paid the same regardless.

    • No conditions means a quick completion (2-3 months) allowing you to move on and enjoy the funds.

    Negatives

    • Offers tend to be lower than other options. The added risk placed on the buyer will be priced in the offer.

    • Buyers will be cautious which might limit the number of interested parties.

  • Subject to Planning - This is the most common sale structure. Buyers agree to purchase the property for a set price in the future once they have paid for and secured planning permission.

    In this approach both parties agree to work together for a period to maximise the value of the land.

    Benefits

    • The seller receives the much higher value of the property with planning permission.

    • The purchaser invests their own expertise and money to promote the value of the site on behalf of the seller.

    • The seller retains the same use and ownership over the property throughout the planning process. This includes the ability to rent out the property to generate income during this time.

    Negatives

    • Payment delayed and made on the grant of planning permission, typically 6-18 months from the initial agreement.

    • There is less certainty on when the funds will be received as it is linked to the local planning authority.

  • Seller & Buyer Partnering - JV’s can take many forms but in their simplest the seller provides the property or land and the buyer funds the planning and build project stages. The profit of the entire project is then split 50/50 - or a new premises or home can be given back to the well in addition to a profit split.

    Benefits

    • This approach delivers the most value back to the seller.

    • JV’s can be very flexible with new commercial premises or residential property given back to the seller.

    • Sellers can be as involved and informed on the project as desired. Giving input and direct visibility into the evolution of the project.

    Negatives

    • Payment is delayed for the longest of all structures and is delivered at the point that the project is build & sold (24 months+).

Explore three potential routes to disposal below.

Our Development Clients

We work closely with an extensive, ever-growing pool of retained clients.

From single builders and investors, SME developers and contractors to high-net-worth individuals and institutional funders and BTR providers we cover it all.

We provide development consultancy across the lifecycle of a development.

Pre-acquisition we offer; planning and architectural feasibility studies to outline the development potential of unconsented sites. Once a clear understand of the scheme and unit number emerge, we offer land value appraisals to establish the true value of the land on various deal structures.

Post-acquisition we offer free; GDV appraisals for both residential and commercial element of a scheme. We provide our clients with detailed schedules of values (SoVs) to break down the GDV into its component parts. We provide insight into sold comparable data and into local buyer demographics to ensure that your product is suited to the buyers needs.

To join our client list, please contact our Land & Development team, where they will qualify your land requirements and ensure you receive off-market opportunities that are tailored to your acquisition needs.

  • If you want to understand the value of your site or property we offer desktop residual land value appraisals. Our appraisals can identify the value of the site with planning permission as well as the likely levels of subject to planning, unconditional and joint venture offers. All land value appraisals are offered free of charge and without any ongoing obligations.

  • We offer free detailed Gross Development Value (GDV) appraisals based on the latest local market sold comparable data. If you want to get a clear steer on what your scheme is or will be worth then get in touch. We review the numbers as much as required to make sure that your pricing is always in line with the market. Our team price both residential and commercial uses and depending on the depth of information provided will account value to outlook, amenity, level, aspect and prestige.

  • The uniquely, creative skillset and past design-led roles means that the Cornerstone team are well placed to provide an architectural and planning overview of your property and scheme. We provide guidance on the likely bulk, mass and units numbers that a development site might achieve in planning. Our intimate knowledge of planning policy allows us to quickly determine the viability of different land use proposals along with highlight important policy to be aware of so that you always take the best course of action.

  • Our team are on hand to provide the bridge between the product and the costumer. We know what sells and we listen close to our buyers and end uses needs and desires. Our team offers real input and insight into what different buyers want and our design background allows us to spot subtle layout improvements and efficiencies. Having worked client side for several years our team view projects from a developer’s perspective and will look to identify cost saving wherever possible, all adding to the profit margin.

  • Being able to back up your view on value is key. At Cornerstone we have access to the latest sold comparable data at every scale. On request we can provide a detailed schedule breaking down the details of what has been achieved in the local area. We provide a table of comparable that includes sold date, price, property size, number of bedrooms, property address and £ per sqft for each comparable. Our GDV and land value appraisal are always based on this data so you can rest assured that our pricing can be justified.

  • It is important to know your costumer, their needs and motivations – however these vary greatly between geographic locations. Luckily, we can provide analytics into the demographics of local populations and insight into buyer profiles in local areas. The advice we provide helps ensure every new development and home has product suitability to meet the diverse needs of the modern purchaser.

Explore some of our free services below

Dispose

Should you choose to explore a disposal of your property following our advise, we are here tiassist you.

As every site is different with its own unique drivers so is our approach to disposals. Each sites value will be maximised in the way most appropriate for it.

We have a large pool of retained clients who are looking for a wide variety of sites. We can run both on and off market campaigns that will seek to the produce the best outcome for our vendors.

Our advise is tailored to your bespoke needs and whether you would like us to instruct us directly or to assist you on a retained basis, saving a fee we can work on either basis.

Please explore some of our disposal expertise in the section below.

Land Disposals

  • Off Market - Sold discretely within our extensive pool of qualified, reliable clients.

  • On Market - Preparing and launching coordinated marketing campaigns with both digital and paper advertising.

  • Testing the Water - If you have not made the final decision to sell and would like to qualify valuations that have been provided we can engage with our client base to produce offers for your consideration.

Development Disposals

  • Forward Purchase - We work with clients on a forward purchase basis to acquire entire blocks for either turnkey sales or for investment purposes.

  • Forward Fund - We work with institutional funds and BTR operators looking to forward fund large scale, mixed use schemes.

  • Joint Venture Partnership - If you have a development site but lack the build & project management expertise to the deliver it alone we can introduce you to delivery partners.

New Homes Disposals

We take a 3 stage approach to new homes launches.

  • Stage 1 - We will soft launch to assist with setting the final values and building intrigue around an upcoming development.

  • Stage 2 - We undertake an off-plan launch armed with on a couple of internal & external CGI’s, a brochure and floor plans.

  • Stage 3 - A full launch when access is possible and the development is finished.