9-Unit Block, Manchester M4

Nine one- and two-bed apartments, M4 (Ancoats / Northern Quarter). GIA 850 sqft each, NIA 85 percent. GDV per sqft £360 (NW mid). Build cost £2,300/sqm (NW baseline). Target 20 percent profit on cost. NPPF small-sites preset.

Inputs

  • Units: 9 apartments (mix of 1B1B and 2B1B).
  • GIA per unit: 850 sqft. NIA: 85 percent (722.5 sqft saleable each).
  • GDV: 9 x 722.5 x 360 = £2,340,900. Round 2.34m.
  • Build: 9 x 850 sqft = 7,650 sqft GIA = 710.7 sqm. 710.7 x 2,300 = £1,634,610 build cost.
Residual ledger
GDV
£2,340,900
Build cost
(£1,634,610)
Professional fees (12% of build)
(£196,153)
s106 / CIL / BNG (9 x 4,000)(small-sites CIL relief partial)
(£36,000)
Contingency (7.5%)
(£140,007)
Finance interest (S-curve, 9.5%, 18 months, 50% avg)
(£143,213)
Subtotal costs
(£2,149,983)
Target profit (20% PoC)
(£429,997)
Residual before SDLT gross-up (GDV - costs - profit)
(£239,080)
Residual NEGATIVE before tax: deal aborts at 20% PoC
Recompute at 15% PoC: profit = 322,497
Residual at 15% PoC
(£131,580)
Still negative. Need GDV uplift or cost discipline.
Verdict at NW midABORT (negative residual)

The lever that flips this

Push GDV to £410/sqft (NW high band, achievable on Ancoats prime). New GDV 2,663m. Costs unchanged. Residual at 20 percent PoC: roughly 80k positive. Still thin. Push build cost down to £2,100/sqm (NW low) instead: build 1.49m, costs 1.95m, residual at 20 percent PoC 175k. Better.

Senior debt sizing

If the deal pencils: senior at 65 percent LTGDV = 1.520m. Total project cost at 175k land = 2.13m. LTC = 71 percent. Senior LTGDV binds first. Equity gap = 2.13m - 1.52m = 610k.

BCIS General Building Cost Index Q2 2026· Q2 2026Appraisal model reviewed by Oliver Wakefield-Smith (data integrity) with chartered-surveyor (MRICS) and CTA tax review. No affiliate links.