More developers give up or go bust these days than manage to thrive long-term and achieve the success they aspire to.
That’s the harsh reality of the industry. It’s a far cry from the housing markets of the late 70’s and 80s when more than 12,500 SME developers and smaller housebuilders existed. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) count of just over 3,000 or so today is a stark reminder of the challenging and complex landscape we now work within.
At Millbank we believe survival – and success - is dependent on becoming a knowledgeable, skilled and accomplished development professional. That means learning from those with a solid track record who have been where you are and got to where you want to be.
Given the rewards at stake, the capital at risk and the serious consequences of making a wrong move, your development business and the important task of delivering much-needed housing is too important to risk falling victim to inexperience. Similarly, missing vital pieces of the development puzzle that cost you opportunities, time, and money.
Missing vital pieces of the development puzzle will cost you opportunities, time, and money.
Even if you’re good at building things, you’ll know that the biggest challenges facing housebuilders, developers, site finders and promotors remain the cost and availability of viable land and dealing with the complexities of the planning process. Of course you also need to know how to get all of your numbers right!
At its simplest, everything starts with land. I eventually worked this out for myself in 1988 when I progressed from doing smaller refurb deals to securing land opportunities and building my first new-build house. I’ve spent the rest of my career learning exactly how to secure the best deals, maximise land value and win the best planning permissions. I set up Millbank Land Academy to share what I’ve learnt and help you identify, negotiate, and secure genuine off-market land opportunities, design optimum schemes that add maximum value and win the best planning permissions first time, every time.
Paul Higgs MRICS
Founder and CEO Millbank Group
Few people can match Paul’s breadth and depth of industry experience. Those that can are busy steering the big UK housebuilders or running their own companies, using what they know rather than teaching it, and keeping their insider secrets to themselves.
Paul established Millbank Land Academy to lift the lid on insider knowledge to help improve the skills of the industry workforce - as well as support and encourage new entrants - to get deals done the right way.
Millbank Land Academy is the training arm of the award-winning Millbank Group, disrupting the industry with a pioneering approach to land, planning and development since 2002 and helping people, businesses and communities to grow.
