Questions owners ask
The questions owners, family offices and their advisers most often ask before they get in touch. If yours isn’t here, ask it anyway.
What is an owner’s representative?
Someone appointed by the owner, to look after their interests across a property project or portfolio. We bring the owner’s objectives, the specialists’ advice and the commercial reality into one view, so decisions get made in time and with their consequences understood.
How is that different from a project manager or employer’s agent?
Both act for the owner within the scope of their appointments: delivering the project, administering the contract. We are appointed for the owner’s wider interests, before there is a project, alongside the team while it runs, and after handover. We also coordinate the owner’s own advisers, the lawyers, accountants, lenders, operators and family office staff whose input shapes decisions but who sit outside the project team. There is a short comparison on the About page.
Do we still need a project manager, architect and cost consultant?
Yes. We don’t replace or duplicate them. The team gets one client voice, a stable brief and timely decisions, which is why we are often introduced by the professionals already on a project.
How early should we talk to you?
Earlier than feels necessary. The choices with the biggest consequences, what to buy, what to build and who to appoint, are usually made before a project team exists.
Can you help with a project that is already under way?
Yes. Resetting projects that have drifted is a common reason we are appointed. An independent assessment first, then a plan to bring the brief, budget and team back on course.
Do you work outside the UK?
Yes. Rob’s experience covers the UK, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, including remote islands and mountain sites where logistics and local regulation shape every decision.
What kind of owners do you work with?
Family offices, private owners, hotel owners, and institutions whose property matters to them for the long term. We are not the right fit for a developer looking to build and sell quickly.
What size of project?
We are most useful where the stakes are high, relative to the owner’s experience of building, not where the budget is largest.
How are you paid?
Typically by the owner. Fees are agreed for each engagement, usually a monthly retainer for ongoing representation or a fixed fee for a defined piece of work such as an independent review. We take no fees, commissions or introductions from contractors, suppliers or other consultants.
What happens when we get in touch?
A conversation, without obligation, to understand the situation. If we can help, we say how. If someone else would serve you better, we say that too.