Shepherd, one of the largest independent firms of chartered surveyors in the UK, has appointed Alastair Blyth, formerly a Director of AWG Residential and Business Development Manager at CALA Finance, to head up the new division.
The service will provide a range of valuation, construction, project management, advisory and development finance advice in both sectors.
According to Mr Blyth, the downturn over the past two years has caused commercial property values to drop and within residential sector, most new build development to stop as houses are only being built to order. Small developers have been hurt the most, with a lack of sales or occupiers causing serious cash flow difficulties.
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Shepherd’s project consultancy is offering a one stop advisory service on residential and commercial property development.
Mr Blyth said: “With Shepherd’s unrivalled geographical coverage, (30 offices in Scotland) and post code coverage in England, as a multi-disciplined practice with 150 qualified surveyors, the firm is well placed to provide local knowledge advice on problematic property developments.
“The range of advice from our new project consultancy includes an overview and evaluation of projects and the provision of recommendations on strategy and exit routes. We are also putting forward structured proposals with timetables and milestones to minimise and maximise a project’s financial position as well as providing surveying expertise on the construction issues, including cost to complete, build contracts, consultants’ appointments and collateral warranties.”
Commenting on the new initiative, Ian Hannon, Managing Partner, said: “We believe this initiative provides an unrivalled pro-active analysis of residential and commercial development projects. With Alastair’s unprecedented knowledge of the development sector and his wide range of experience and knowledge of property and funding markets it will be a huge benefit to a wide range of clients throughout the UK.”
(GK/KMcA)
