PS Development Services

We are interested in exploring properties within all Use Classes from smaller residential family homes, commercial / agricultural land sites right through to mid to larger strategic sites that can be acquired/promoted upon a successful planning outcome to developers and/or approved building firms.

We also consider joint ventures, commercial sale and rent back acquisitions and transfers of going concerns (TOGCs).

Our primary search area is across Greater London, the Thames Valley, the Home Counties, Sussex, Essex and Kent.  We are also very interested in sites and buildings in the UK’s larger cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Southampton, Liverpool and Newcastle.

PS Development Services is a trading style of Property Solvers Limited and its associated property buying companies Property Solvers Acquisitions Limited and Xylo Developments Limited.

The directors have been involved in property development since 2003 and are passionate about sustainable housebuilding, town planning and social housing development both in the UK and abroad.

As professional property buyers, Property Solvers Limited is registered with the Property Ombudsman, Trading Standards, the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) and also adheres to the government’s own data protection and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.

Please feel free to request our credentials via info@psdevelopers.co.uk and, should we propose to acquire the site directly for cash, we are more than happy to demonstrate proof of funds.

In practical terms, land promotion involves a detailed assessment of the suitability of a given development site, subsequently producing plans / scheme designs / reports while undertaking all the relevant surveys and liaising with the local authority.

The overarching aim is to obtain unconditional planning consent, upon which the site will be sold to the highest bidding third party (normally a professional housebuilder) or built out directly. 

The entire process is normally undertaken at no expense to the land / development site / building owner.

Should the planning outcome be successful, upon disposal, land promoters typically work on a profit share basis commensurate with the associated up-front planning risks and costs of executing the application.

Planning gain, in its simplest terms, refers to the financial ‘value capture’ achieved as a result of a successful planning application.

Any planning proposal (regardless of the use class) should also carefully consider the future impacts on local community dynamics, the environment and transport sustainability whilst ensuring that there is adequate social infrastructure (schools, health services, shops, recreational, cultural stimuli amongst other amenities).

A badly designed, unintegrated development serves very little bar creating local contention and, in most cases, will rarely progress beyond the application stage.

Professional developers and land promoters, therefore, understand that any gains from a successful planning application must be distributed across all the project stakeholders, the end buyer and the local community.

Whilst much will depend on the scope of the development, in addition to the planning application, there will be additional fees to pay for planning and architectural consultants, pre-application fees, engineers, quantity surveyors and other professional services.

Furthermore, many planning applications require a significant body of technical reports including transport, flood risk, waste disposal, utilities management, environmental and energy assessments as well as tree, ecology, sustainability and other relevant evidence.

As part of the service and any offer we make, PS Development Services will in most cases absorb all these professional services costs.  We also pay for all legal fees.

We are very interested in working with land finders and use several online tools, particularly the Land Registry, to find out owner details and communicate directly.

Our aim is to open a non-obligatory and informal dialogue with absolutely no pressure.

At this juncture, we completely understand that property and landowners may simply be curious as to what the redeveloped value of the land as a result of adding planning value would be and selling may not even be a serious consideration.

The majority of larger developers and housebuilders and generally prefer to purchase land with full, unconditional planning consent in place. 

They are often looking at sites with a higher Existing Use Value (EUV), typically over the £3-4 million mark.

Compared to working with SME developers, you may also find that the prices you get offered by larger homebuilders may not be as competitive and they’re not willing to tailor to your specific needs.

An option agreement is a right (not an obligation) that the building / land owner grants a developer to acquire a given site within a specified period of time. The developer will normally apply for planning permission, at their own expense. If granted by the Local Planning Authority (LPA), the owner is contractually bound to sell to the developer at the pre-agreed value.

A promotion agreement typically has the same characteristics as an option agreement, however, both the landowner and the promoter (which may or may not be the developer) will work together to ‘promote’ the development project once planning has been granted.

Depending on the scope and size of a development proposal, there may be some kind of hybrid agreement in place.

Upon closer examination of a given site, should we perceive that there may well be opportunity to enhance its value, with the owner’s explicit permission, we will initiate consultations with who we feel would be the most suitable architectural practice / planning consultancy and produce an outline financial appraisal ourselves to examine project viability.

This process also involves liaising with the Local Planning Authority and our trusted development services associates.  However, we will refrain from taking any of these steps at the request of the owner(s) should there be any privacy issues. Nondisclosure agreements can also be drawn up to ensure confidentiality (when/if deemed necessary).

It should be noted that, whilst we categorically avoid spurious ‘rule of thumb’ estimations and take pride in our ability to compile non-speculative financial models, there will be a wide range of questions that simply cannot be answered as a result of these initial investigations.

Therefore, upon our subsequent meetings, whilst monetary terms may be discussed, adopting generic appraisal rules at such an early stage is unlikely to provide owners with a clear understanding of what their site is worth with full planning in place.

Should we be confident about our ability to assist, we would need to engage in a more thorough project analysis process. This will involve arranged visits to the site with our associated planning and architectural consultants complemented by in-depth discussions with the local planning authority, engineers, quantity surveyors and other associated services.

Note there will be costs for you to incur as we investigate the planning potential.

We will usually aim to establish a ‘bricks and mortar’ and/or existing use value (EUV) of the site either through information that the landowner already has or via our own independent investigations (using a RICS-approved surveyor, where necessary).

To ascertain the aproximate value of the site with planning, we will start by undertaking a preliminary ‘residual valuation’, i.e. – where the overall costs of build plus an industry-standard profit margin from the value of the completed project leaves a figure that represents the approximate land value.

This figure will be broadly anecdotal until we have a clearer idea of the scope of allowable construction as a result of conversations with our associated planning consultants and the Local Planning Authority (LPA).

Furthermore, it is necessary to undertake more sophisticated calculations based on specifications, unit sizes and a number of other variables / practicalities.

In most cases, no.

After initial analysis of the property / land / development site, we would typically present either a direct purchase offer or one that is subject to a successful planning option. 

Should you wish to proceed with a straight purchase (without waiting for a planning outcome), we will cover all your conveyancing fees and disbursements.  As it’s a direct sale, you will also not have to worry about any commercial agency or auction fees.

If you’re happy to proceed with a ‘subject to planning’ offer, we would typically formalise things with an option agreement or propose an exchange with a delayed completion.  We will then provide you with a realistic timeframe for when we expect successful planning or Permitted Development to be achieved and proceed to engage with the relevant consultants and professionals (at our own expense).  Again, there will be no associated fees from your end and we will cover all your legal costs.

Should we agree to move forward with a land promotion offer, we will present all the associated risks and costs, alongside our remuneration requirements (usually based on the added value achieved as a result of planning permission being granted).

We will naturally give you and any co-owners time to consider our proposal(s) and engage in your own due diligence prior to signing any form of contractual agreement.

Some of the information it would be great to receive would include:

• The location (Google Maps or Bing Maps);
• The size of plot, boundaries and details regarding any existing buildings;
• Recent internal photos you may have;
• Details of previous sales history / attempts;
• Previous planning consent details (recent or lapsed);
• Proof of compliance with covenants / consents / permits / easements / rights of way;
• Title checks (ownership, boundaries, 1st/2nd/3rd charges, encumbrances);
• Confirmation that ground and/or building conditions are favourable for development / redevelopment;
• Related to the above, confirmation that there’s no evidence of mining,  contamination or hazardous land use;
• Drainage and flood surveys (check long term flood risk here);
• Any archaeological or ecological surveys;
• Connection to utilities – gas, electricity, water, sewage disposal (typically via a service consultancy report);
• Any reviews of mineral, oil and gas rights;
• Access – i.e that the property is not landlocked or there no other issues;
• Cross-reference acreage of the plot against HM Land Registry data
• Insurance-related documents.

In essence, the more you could supply the better.

We welcome any further questions and queries by filling our simple form, contacting us by e-mail info@psdevelopers.co.uk or contacting our freephone 24/7 enquiry line on 0800 044 3810.