Services
Development management for residential funders and developers
Written by Jack Swingler MRICS, Founder and Director
Momentm runs residential schemes for funders and developers from acquisition to handover. A senior development manager takes charge of programme, design, commercial matters and risk, reports to you every month, and stays on the scheme until the last home is handed over.
Where schemes usually go wrong
Most schemes don't go wrong on site first. They go wrong in the contract. The agreement decides who carries each risk, but if nobody works it while the homes are built, the protections stay in the document and the risks show up on site.
That's when notices get missed, variations are agreed before they're priced, and a contractor who under-allowed for risk comes back to reopen the deal, or quietly shaves quality to claw the margin back. We manage the contract every month against the risks it allocates, so each risk stays where the deal put it.
Who appoints us
- Funders and fund managers who own residential schemes but don't have an in-house delivery team.
- Developers who hold the development risk and need an experienced delivery team.
- Teams taking on more schemes who need senior support while they recruit.
What development management covers
- Programme: setting the delivery programme and holding every party to it, from pre-construction to handover.
- Design: running the design team and keeping decisions tied to the brief, the budget and the planning consent.
- Contract: notices, variations, extensions of time and the risks each party carries, managed every month rather than argued over at the end.
- Commercial: contract strategy, cost control and the final account.
- Specification: performance requirements beyond Building Control, such as non-combustible external walls and balconies, so the homes are good enough to own for thirty years, not just legal and insurable.
- Planning: discharging conditions and tracking approvals, so nothing holds up construction or sales.
- Risk: a live risk register, reviewed with you every month.
- Handover: warranties, as-built drawings, O&M manuals and fire and safety information, due 24, 8 and 4 weeks before practical completion, then defects through to the end of the defects period.
- Reporting: monthly reports focused on investment decisions, with every scheme's status in the Momentm portal.
How we work
The people you meet are the people who run your scheme. A director and three senior development managers lead every appointment, and three of the four are chartered surveyors (MRICS).
Every scheme follows the same working framework, with standardised documents and established processes in the Momentm portal, our reporting and delivery platform. You see the same view of every scheme, every month, and improvements on one scheme carry across the rest.
Recent work
Langley Park, Chippenham
167 shared ownership homes, £42m GDV, in a multi-developer masterplan. Historic planning issues had delayed the scheme and the inherited contract needed real work. A deep dive into the programme and cashflow kept the contractor to time, and the relationship James Read built with the developer team secured a specification uplift and an extended defects period.
Read the case studyClapham Park, Lambeth
122 shared ownership homes, £53m GDV, on a contractor-led, multi-phase regeneration. For Thriving Investments we negotiated the contract, prepared the tender documentation and oversee delivery, representing the fund's interests through every phase. Led by Rob Try.
Read the case studyCommon questions
What does a development manager do for a fund?
A development manager sits on the fund's side of the table for the whole scheme: the agreement, the requirements, the team and the oversight that follows. They run the programme, design team, contracts, cost and risk on the fund's behalf, and report progress against the investment case every month.
How is development management different from project management?
A project manager runs a build to practical completion, usually for a defined scope. A development manager covers the whole scheme, from the funding agreement to the end of the defects period, including design, commercial decisions and risk, with your interests at its centre.
Can you work alongside our own team?
Yes. We can act as your whole delivery team, or add senior capacity alongside your people while you take on more schemes.
Related services
Tell us about your scheme, the structure and the support you need. We'll discuss where we can help.
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