Joint venture property development.
You have a site. We have 22 years of delivery, a construction team and access to funding. A JV means you take a share of what gets built, not just what the land's worth today.
Every page explaining joint ventures on the first page of Google was written by an architect, a surveyor, a land agent, a broker or a lawyer.
Useful people. But none of them has stood on the site at 7am with a contractor explaining why the foundations cost more than the appraisal said.
We've done JVs as the developer. So this is what actually happens, including the parts that go wrong.
What a joint venture actually is.
A joint venture is an agreement where a landowner and a developer both put something in and both take a share of what comes out.
The landowner contributes the site. The developer contributes delivery, planning, funding, construction and sales, and the expertise to get from a field or an empty mill to finished, sold units.
The point is the upside. Sell your land outright and you get land value. Enter a JV and you get a share of the finished scheme's value, which is a different and usually larger number.
The cost is risk. Land value is certain. A share of a scheme isn't. If the scheme underperforms, so does your return. That's the honest half of the trade, and it's the half most JV pages skip.
How does a joint venture work in property development?
- 1. Appraisal. We look at your site and work out what could be built, what it would sell for, what it would cost, and what's left. That residual is what the JV divides. If the numbers don't work, we say so, and that's a week of our time, not yours.
- 2. Structure. How the JV is legally constituted, who owns what, who decides what, and how the money flows. This is where a JV succeeds or fails, and it's the part landowners skim.
- 3. Planning. Usually the developer's cost and risk. It's also the longest and least predictable stage. A JV that hasn't agreed what happens if planning fails is an argument waiting to happen.
- 4. Build and sell. The developer delivers. Funding is drawn in stages against work completed.
- 5. Distribution. The scheme sells, the debt is repaid, costs come out, and the surplus is split per the agreement.
The bit that catches people: you don't get paid until the end. A JV is not a sale. If you need money now, a JV is the wrong instrument and we'll tell you that in the first conversation.
Four common shapes.
Which one you're offered tells you a lot about how the other side sees the risk.
- Special purpose vehicle (SPV). A limited company set up for the scheme. Landowner and developer both hold shares. The site transfers into the SPV, funding sits in the SPV, the scheme is built and sold by the SPV, profits distribute by shareholding. Cleanest structure, and the one most lenders prefer.
- Contractual JV. No company. A contract sets out contributions, obligations and profit share. Simpler, cheaper, but weaker when things go wrong.
- Land equity JV. The landowner's site is their equity contribution, valued at an agreed figure. That agreed figure is the whole negotiation, and everything else follows from it.
- Development agreement. The landowner keeps ownership and the developer builds under contract, with the landowner selling on completion. Less a JV than a delivery arrangement, but often called one.
What matters more than the label:
- Who controls decisions, and what happens at deadlock
- What the land is valued at going in, the number that determines your outcome
- Who funds what, and what happens if costs overrun
- What happens if planning fails, the clause that gets ignored and then litigated
- How and when profit distributes, and what counts as profit
- What happens if either side wants out
The land is equity. The build needs debt.
A JV still needs funding. Most JV schemes run on development finance, staged drawdowns against work completed, sized on gross development value, repaid on sale. The land equity contributed by the landowner reduces how much needs borrowing, which is precisely why JVs get funded when a developer buying outright couldn't raise enough.
We arrange it. That's the other half of our business.
On the conflict: we're both a developer who might JV with you and a broker who might fund you. Where we're your JV partner, we'll tell you to take independent advice on the finance and we won't insist you use us for it. If that feels like it shouldn't need saying, it does, and most firms in this position don't say it.
Where joint ventures go wrong.
- The land value going in was wrong. Agree a figure that's too low and you've sold cheap with extra steps. Too high and the scheme doesn't fund. This single number decides your outcome more than the profit split does.
- Nobody agreed what happens if planning fails. Years pass, consent is refused, and there's no clause covering who's absorbed what. This is the most common JV dispute.
- "Profit" wasn't defined. Before or after developer's fee? Before or after finance costs? Does the developer's own construction arm charge market rate? A profit share is worthless if the other side controls what counts as profit.
- Cost overruns weren't allocated. Build costs rise. If the agreement doesn't say who absorbs it, it comes out of the shared pot, which means it comes out of the landowner's share too.
- Deadlock had no exit. Two parties, equal control, genuine disagreement, no mechanism. The scheme stalls and both sides lose.
- One side had no leverage after the site transferred. Once your land is in the SPV, your negotiating position has changed permanently. Understand that before it moves.
We haven't published one, and we won't.
A lot of people arrive here searching for a JV agreement template or a sample PDF.
A joint venture agreement allocates millions of pounds of risk between two parties over several years. The clauses that matter (land valuation basis, planning failure, cost overrun, profit definition, deadlock, exit) are the ones a template gets generically wrong for your specific site.
If you're at the template stage, what you need is a solicitor who does development JVs, not a document. It costs less than the mistake.
We'll talk you through the structure for free, and we'll tell you what to ask your solicitor. We just won't hand you a PDF that gives you false confidence.
What we bring, and what we're straight about.
What we bring: 22 years of residential-led development in the North West. A construction and sales team. Access to development funding. And the appraisal experience to tell you early whether your site works. Our track record →
- We'll tell you if a straight sale beats a JV for you. Sometimes it does
- We'll tell you what we think the land's worth going in, and show our working
- We won't tie your site up in an option while we decide
- If planning fails, the agreement will already say what happens
Where we work: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire, Liverpool, Leeds. Agents and introducers are rewarded or retained.
A site, and a conversation.
- Call0333 577 1988
- Emailinfo@huntergrey.co.uk
- Office139-143 Union St, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL1 1TE
Would rather sell outright? Sell your land →
Joint ventures, answered.
How does a joint venture work in property development?
A landowner contributes the site, a developer contributes funding, planning, construction and sales, and both share the finished scheme's value. The landowner takes a share of what gets built rather than just land value: more upside, more risk, and no payment until the scheme sells.
What is a joint venture between a landowner and a developer?
An agreement where the landowner's site becomes their equity in the scheme instead of being sold. The agreed value of that land going in is the most important number in the deal.
How is a property development JV structured?
Most commonly a special purpose vehicle: a limited company owned by both parties, holding the site and the funding. Alternatives are a contractual JV, a land equity arrangement or a development agreement.
How is joint venture property development financed?
Usually development finance: staged drawdowns against completed work, sized on gross development value, repaid on sale. The landowner's equity reduces the borrowing needed, which is often why a JV funds when an outright purchase wouldn't. Development finance →
Is a JV better than selling my land?
It depends on whether you want certainty or upside. A sale gives you a known sum now. A JV gives you a share of an unknown sum later, which is usually larger and occasionally isn't. If you need the money now, sell. Sell your land →
Do you have a joint venture agreement template?
No, and we wouldn't recommend using one. The clauses that decide the outcome (land valuation, planning failure, cost overrun, profit definition, deadlock) are the ones a template gets generically wrong. Use a solicitor who does development JVs.
What happens if planning permission is refused?
Whatever the agreement says, which is why that clause matters more than almost any other. Get it right before you sign, not after refusal.
What areas do you do JVs in?
Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire, plus Liverpool and Leeds.