Born Consultancy
Born Consultancy

On your team.

Your architect works for the design. Your builder works for the build. I work for you.

Get in touch Who I am

Who I am

Matthew Osborn

Started on the tools as an electrician. Ended up running my own development and contracting business.

Quantity surveyor · Commercial lead · Developer

Over 30 years in construction, from City projects for a plc contractor to high-end homes for private developers. Then I built my own development and contracting business, turning over more than £5m a year.

I’ve been the builder, the client and the developer. I know how a price is put together, where the money goes, and what gets missed when nobody is checking.

Running my own firm through Covid and the rate rises taught me what to do when a job starts to slip. Just as important, what not to do.

What 30 years taught me

  1. How a building actually goes togetherOn the tools as a qualified electrician.
  2. How the big contractors price and run a jobRetrained as a quantity surveyor on City projects for a plc contractor.
  3. What homes really cost to buildCommercial manager on hundreds of new homes for a residential developer.
  4. Where the money goes on a high-end houseCommercial director for a developer building at the top end of the market.
  5. What it’s like when it’s your own moneyBuilt and ran my own development and contracting business, from site purchase to completion.

Track record

Priced, procured, built and funded.

£120m+
Residential construction delivered
£250m+
GDV delivered
800+
Homes
£40m
GDV across 70 homes of our own

My expertise

The commercial side first.

For one stage or the whole build.

Commercial management

The budget, the cost plan and every valuation checked before you pay. Changes priced as they happen and a final account agreed, not argued about.

You get: budget, monthly cost report, final account

Contracts and compliance

What you are signing, in plain English. Building Control, warranty, CDM and the paperwork you need to insure, mortgage or sell the house.

You get: contract review, compliance tracker, handover file

Procurement

The right builder on the right terms. Prices compared like for like, the gaps found before you sign, and a contract that protects you.

You get: tender report, recommended builder, contract ready to sign

Design coordination

Architect, engineers and specialists working to one programme, with the design kept to budget and the site never waiting on drawings.

You get: design programme, query tracker, priced options

Sound familiar?

You’ve got the plot, an architect and a builder’s price. Everyone is telling you something different, and you don’t know who to trust.

You don’t need a back office. You need someone on your side who knows how the other side works. I check the price before you sign it, every valuation before you pay it, and every change before it becomes a bill.

The rules have never been tighter. Building Regulations, fire, warranty, CDM. Miss one and it costs you at the end, when it is most expensive to fix. I make sure it is done right the first time, with the paperwork to prove it.

What I put in place

Your money protected. Your build compliant.

Run side by side, because one always affects the other. A late drawing becomes an extra. An unpriced change becomes a cash problem.

Commercial · the money

  1. A price with every assumption shownChecked against the drawings and the market before you sign.
  2. Every valuation checked before you payWhat you owe, what is spent and what is still to come.
  3. Changes priced as they happenRecorded, priced and agreed, not argued about at the end.
  4. A build that costs what you were told it would

Technical · compliance

  1. Who designs what, in writingDesign team appointed on clear scopes, with responsibility agreed.
  2. Queries chased until they are closedArchitect, engineers and specialists, tracked every week.
  3. Compliance evidence gathered as you goBuilding Control, warranty inspections and the record of every change, not chased at handover.
  4. Signed off first time, with the paperwork to prove it

When to call

Most builds give warning before they go wrong.

The earlier I see it, the more of your money there is to save.

  • PRICE
    The builder’s price keeps going up and you don’t know why
  • PAYMENT
    You’re paying valuations you can’t check
  • DESIGN
    The architect and the builder are blaming each other
  • COMPLIANCE
    Building Control or the warranty want paperwork you don’t have
  • CASH
    Money is going out faster than the house is going up

How I work

Seats, not salaries.

A fixed monthly fee for as long as the build needs me, or a fixed fee for one stage. Agreed in writing before anything starts.

  1. First

    A conversation

    You tell me about the build, where it is and what’s worrying you.

  2. Then

    A look at the numbers

    Drawings, prices, programme, contracts. Whatever you have.

    No charge
  3. Before anything starts

    A fixed proposal

    What I’ll do and what it costs, in writing.

Contact

Tell me where you are. I’ll tell you straight whether I can help.

What to send me

Where you are

The site, the drawings, the planning position. Whatever exists, however rough.

The numbers

The budget, the builder’s price, or what you’ve paid so far.

What’s worrying you

One line is enough.