Insights
01 Apr 2026
Our Project Management service is led by a MAPM qualified Project Manager and MRICS Chartered Building Surveyor with deep technical expertise, delivering scalable, commercially driven projects. Read our Q&A with Dan Roberts, below:
How would you define the role of a construction project manager in today’s UK property market?
At its core, construction project management is about taking responsibility for four fundamental drivers on every scheme: time, cost, quality and risk. Every activity ultimately relates back to controlling and balancing those four elements.
An effective project manager assembles the right professional team, aligns all parties around a clear and well‑defined brief, and fosters collaborative working from the outset. This typically includes cost consultants, engineers, fire and building safety specialists, ESG advisers and contractors, among others.
These drivers cannot be managed in isolation. Success depends on building a trusted team and ensuring that every participant clearly understands their role, responsibilities and accountabilities.
Why might the project manager be underappreciated?
When Project Management is delivered effectively, it often attracts little attention. If a scheme completes on time, within budget and without dispute, it can deceptively appear as if the project was straightforward.
In reality, those outcomes are usually the product of detailed planning, robust challenge at brief stage, and continuous oversight throughout design and delivery. Much of that work is preventative rather than reactive, which means its value is not always immediately visible.
We take pride in providing a director‑led service. Every instruction benefits from senior oversight, reflecting the importance clients place on experience and informed decision‑making at the table. Whether the project is a simple refurbishment or a complex, multi‑million‑pound newbuild development, that leadership consistently delivers tangible benefits.
Why is the project manager’s role more valuable than ever in the current market?
In today’s challenging market, elevated borrowing costs and ongoing inflationary pressures are testing the viability of projects across all sectors. This has intensified the need for disciplined and demonstrable capital deployment.
Clients are therefore scrutinising expenditure more closely than ever. A commercially focused project manager ensures that costs are tightly controlled, rigorously challenges variations and change requests, and confirms that payments align strictly with contractual entitlement. We manage each project as though it were our own capital at stake.
At the same time, expectations around ESG performance continue to increase. Clients may be required to deliver EPC improvements, secure BREEAM or NABERS ratings, or demonstrate measurable carbon reductions. These requirements have direct implications for programme, procurement and design decisions and must be embedded from the earliest stages.
Why should project management be viewed as a strategic investment rather than a cost?
Quite simply, the consequences of getting it wrong far outweigh the consultancy fee.
Delays can undermine rental income, poor cost control erodes margins, and quality failures expose projects to disputes and reputational damage. Strong project management mitigates these risks and protects the long‑term value of the asset.
How can strong Project Management improve cost certainty in a volatile environment?
It begins with assembling the right team. Whether working with our in‑house cost management specialists or trusted external consultants, the principle is the same: proactive professionals with the right sector experience and a collaborative approach are essential.
From there, the focus is on robust procurement strategies, disciplined change control and real‑time monitoring of variations. Clients should have clear visibility throughout the project lifecycle and should never face unexpected cost outcomes at completion.
What are the main causes of programme delay at present?
Late scope changes once works are under way on site remain a significant cause of delay.
This reinforces the importance of thoroughly testing and refining the client brief at the outset.
Weather disruption to external works is also becoming more prevalent, while regulatory processes, including Gateway approvals for higher‑risk buildings, are extending programme durations. Realistic programmes must account for these factors from the start.
How has the Building Safety Act changed the project manager’s role?
The Building Safety Act has formalised responsibilities and increased accountability across the supply chain.
For higher‑risk buildings, the Gateway regime requires more detailed design information at earlier stages, alongside clear identification of duty holders. For project managers, this places greater emphasis on coordination, documentation and assurance.
Building safety, fire strategy and regulatory compliance must now be fully integrated into the programme from day one.
We work closely with our building safety, fire and regulatory compliance specialists to guide clients through this process. Having that multidisciplinary capability under one roof significantly reduces risk and avoids gaps between disciplines.
Can you share an example of Hollis’s multidisciplinary approach in practice?
At Stakehill 295, the refurbishment of an industrial unit in north Manchester, 10 different Hollis services were involved, including Project Management, Cost Management, Dilapidations, ESG & Sustainability, and M&E among others.
By having the project manager as a central point of contact for the client, we coordinated all of the services to align programme, budget and sustainability objectives. This streamlined communication and materially reduced risk for the client.
What is your key piece of advice for property owners planning a major project?
Focus on risk from the outset. While it is not possible to eliminate every risk, early identification and proactive management make a significant difference. A clear and well‑considered risk strategy protects time, cost and quality, and ultimately safeguards the long‑term value of the asset.