Property development is where real value is created — but it is also where most people, and most businesses, do not have the time, the team, or the experience to do it well. Chichest partners with individuals, corporates, and trusts who want to develop but would rather not build the capability from scratch.
We take a project from first opportunity through to completed, sold product — managing acquisition, design, approvals, construction, and sales, and keeping you across every decision that matters along the way.
Start a conversationEvery partner arrives at a different starting point. Some already own a property they want to develop — a family holding, a corporate asset, a site with more potential than its current use. Others have no site at all, just capital they want put to work — in which case we go and find one: we source the opportunity, test that it stacks up, structure the acquisition, and shape the project around maximising your return.
Wherever you begin, the journey runs from acquisition all the way through to delivery, design, marketing, and sales — managed by one accountable team. We run the process, assemble the right consultants and external parties around it, and keep you in the loop at every stage, rather than leaving you to coordinate a patchwork of agents, advisers, and contractors pulling in different directions.
Some of the properties we purchase are sourced directly with vendors, without an agent involved, or off-market before they are ever advertised. That access creates opportunities the open market rarely offers — better sites, cleaner negotiations, and pricing that reflects a genuine deal rather than a competitive auction.
We have access to a deep network of consultants and specialists — town planners, architects, engineers, surveyors, certifiers, quantity surveyors, solicitors, accountants, project marketers, and builders — and we know which of them suits which purpose. We assemble the right team around your specific project rather than defaulting to the same names on every job, so the expertise is matched to what the site, the structure, and the approval pathway actually require.
We stay with the project at every stage. Each step below is one we manage directly, with your involvement calibrated to how hands-on you want to be.
If you already hold a property, we start by proving the project up — what the site can carry, what it will cost, and what it returns. If you don't, we find and secure the right one — often dealing directly with the vendor, without an agent, or off-market before it is ever advertised — and test it against the planning framework before you commit a dollar.
We help structure the deal — the ownership entity, the funding position, and the commercial terms — and connect you with brokers and finance providers from our network, so the foundations are right before design begins.
We select the consultants suited to the project and brief them properly, then move into the design phase — resolving a scheme that is approvable, buildable, and marketable.
We manage the approval process, whether through the conventional council development application route or a fast-tracked pathway where the project qualifies for one, and steer the scheme to consent.
We take the project to tender, interrogate the pricing with a builder's eye, and select a contractor on the right balance of price, programme, and capability — not simply the lowest number.
We oversee construction through to handover, holding the builder to programme, budget, and standard. Our construction background means quality is checked by people who know what good looks like.
We manage the marketing and sales phase through our network of project marketers and selling agents — selecting the right ones for the product, briefing them properly, and holding them to account — so the value created through the development is realised rather than left on the table at the final step.
Across every stage you deal with one accountable team. We can take on as much or as little of the journey as suits you — from a single phase through to the complete end-to-end solution.
We are developers, not financiers — but arranging finance well is part of delivering a project well, and our long-standing relationships with brokers and finance providers mean you are introduced to the right people at the right time. From the first conversation about a site to the last settled sale, the process is managed by one team that keeps you informed, involves you to the degree you choose, and never leaves the work sitting in a hand-off.
Pick a time that suits you and it goes straight into our calendar. Half an hour with our Managing Director to talk through the property you hold, or the project you have in mind — no preparation needed, and no obligation on either side.
Book a 30-minute callWhether you have a site in hand, capital to deploy, or simply an interest in developing, we would welcome a confidential conversation. All enquiries are handled directly by the Chichest principals, without obligation.