Three different forms of complexity. One owner-side mindset.

Situation

Aspire was a major residential development in Slough comprising 238 homes, including a significant Build to Rent element. Part-way through construction, the main contractor entered insolvency.

The site was exposed to disruption, subcontractors were uncertain whether they would be paid, contracts and warranties had to be reconsidered, programme certainty disappeared and both lender and prospective purchaser confidence were at risk. Aaron's own equity remained invested in the development, so the financial exposure was personal as well as professional.

The first 72 hours

The immediate challenge was not simply technical or contractual. It was leadership under extreme pressure. Approximately 400–500 emails a day were arriving from subcontractors, consultants, lenders, advisers and stakeholders.

The objective was clear: get the development operational again within three weeks.

Intervention

Back-to-back meetings were held with the existing subcontractor team to establish who was owed money, which businesses were exposed by the collapse, which packages were critical and who was willing and able to continue.

Available contractual step-in rights were exercised where appropriate. Rather than waiting for a replacement traditional main contractor to be procured, a new contracting SPV — Click Contracting Ltd — was incorporated and tasked with completing the development.

The subcontractor packages were rebuilt around the new structure, with new collateral warranties put in place where relevant. Working closely with the quantity surveyor and original subcontractors, a new cost-to-complete assessment and completion programme were produced. The contractor's bondsman was notified and a call made against the contractor's bond.

At the same time, daily communication was used to maintain lender confidence, while the prospective institutional purchaser had to remain confident that completion would not compromise quality or diligence requirements.

Outcome

The development was returned to an operational delivery footing following the main contractor's collapse. The existing supply chain was substantially preserved and reorganised through a new contracting structure, allowing the project to progress rather than entering a prolonged replacement-procurement and remobilisation period.

Aspire was ultimately completed and its Build to Rent element became an institutional investment asset.

Golden Bow relevance

The project already had project managers, quantity surveyors, lawyers, consultants, funders and subcontractors. When the conventional delivery structure failed, additional reporting would not have solved the problem. The requirement was principal-side leadership: filter the noise, stabilise stakeholders, restructure delivery, protect the capital and finish the asset.

Situation

Aaron was appointed into a complex institutional residential remediation programme involving 58 occupied homes. Over several years, more than £10 million had been committed to remediation and defect-related works.

The programme involved institutional ownership, asset management, Development Management, Project Management, quantity surveying, specialist fire consultants, fire engineers, the managing agent / Accountable Person, contractors, insurers, legal advisers, Fire & Rescue Service and residents.

The project did not suffer from a shortage of professional advisers. The challenge was establishing clear owner-side leadership across them.

The problem

Technical recommendations were continuing to evolve, remediation scope had expanded, interim measures were creating significant recurring expenditure and different parties were approaching risk from different professional perspectives. Substantial historic expenditure had already been incurred, but the asset still required a credible route to close-out while minimising further cost leakage.

Intervention

Aaron stepped into a senior owner-side leadership role. Existing fire strategies, risk assessments, intrusive surveys, compartmentation reports, alarm strategies, professional recommendations, enforcement requirements, contractor proposals and remediation scopes were interrogated against the actual risks and required outcome.

One of the clearest examples was the remaining internal remediation works. Under the previous delivery approach, the incumbent contractor had quoted approximately £1.6 million and about 18 months. The scope, liability structure and delivery strategy were challenged. A specialist contractor and revised team were subsequently appointed under a full Design & Build liability structure for approximately £386,000, with the works programmed over approximately three months.

This represents a reduction of approximately £1.2 million against the previous quoted construction cost alone, before considering the cost exposure associated with a substantially longer programme, continuation of interim measures and associated preliminaries. Across the wider intervention, approximately £1.8m–£2.0m of potential savings or avoided expenditure have been identified.

Despite intrusive internal works in an occupied environment, the revised delivery approach has resulted to date in zero resident complaints relating to the internal works programme. Alongside physical remediation, approximately £6.2 million was recovered through the asset's latent-defects insurance policy.

Target outcome

Subject to completion of the remaining works and required professional/regulatory confirmations, the intended outcome is completion of outstanding remediation, removal of remaining interim measures, coherent close-out evidence and restoration of the building to a Stay Put fire strategy.

Golden Bow relevance

The client already had Development Managers, Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors, Fire Consultants, lawyers, Managing Agents and contractors. The answer was not another conventional consultant. The requirement was somebody sitting on the owner's side of the table, looking across those disciplines and determining what was actually required to protect the asset and deliver the right commercial outcome.

Situation

Corben Mews was a highly unusual residential development opportunity in Battersea. Rather than acquiring a conventional site, the project involved acquiring and developing the airspace above an existing residential building, creating two new penthouse apartments while the homes beneath remained occupied.

Planning consent was already in place, but the scheme required further design and planning work to accommodate a modular construction methodology and the practical realities of building above an operational residential asset.

The challenge

The project required coordination of structural capacity, planning and design development, specialist engineering, fire and Building Regulations considerations, off-site manufacture, roof preparation, crane access, road closures, oversailing considerations, resident communication, programme certainty and protection of the occupied building.

The project already had architects, engineers, planners, manufacturers, contractors and other specialists. The challenge was to coordinate them around one commercial objective and create a delivery strategy that made the opportunity viable.

Intervention

The scheme was delivered through the specialist airspace-development business Click Above under Aaron Emmett's leadership. The delivery strategy focused on reducing risk and disruption by resolving as much of the construction as possible away from the existing building.

Structural investigations, design development, planning, engineering and construction methodology were coordinated before major on-site works. A modular methodology allowed a substantial proportion of the new homes to be manufactured off site, improving quality control, reducing roof-level activity and compressing the installation programme.

The occupied building remained a core stakeholder environment throughout. The programme was designed to minimise noise, access restrictions and prolonged disruption. The project also incorporated improvements to the existing building, including communal-area refurbishment, cycle storage and roof-related works.

The modular homes were lifted into position by crane, requiring tightly coordinated road access, traffic management, structural preparation and specialist installation. The principal rooftop installation was completed over a single weekend.

Outcome

Corben Mews successfully created two new penthouse homes above an existing occupied residential building, converting unused airspace into valuable residential accommodation. The project demonstrated that an unconventional development opportunity could be delivered where technical, commercial and stakeholder issues were integrated into a coherent delivery strategy.

Industry recognition

Corben Mews attracted national industry attention as an example of off-site construction and airspace development. The project was shortlisted as a finalist for Offsite Project of the Year at the 2019 Building Awards. The wider pioneering work undertaken through Click Above was subsequently recognised by Property Week, with Aaron Emmett named a 2020 RESI Trailblazer for his work in rooftop and airspace development.

Golden Bow relevance

Corben Mews is not principally a recovery story. It demonstrates Special Projects leadership where the opportunity itself demands an unconventional delivery route. The value came from bringing multiple specialists together around the owner's objective and turning a technically possible but difficult opportunity into a controlled commercial outcome.