Fully Funded Promotion

Fully Funded Land Promotion: What We Fund, What You Retain and When We Are Paid

Pursue a planning-led development opportunity without funding or managing the promotion process yourself

Strategic Land Company normally funds and manages the agreed planning and technical work required to promote suitable land. The landowner does not have to finance the consultant team, coordinate the evidence or carry the normal risk of unsuccessful promotion expenditure.

The funding responsibility, approved cost treatment, promoter’s fee and landowner protections are recorded in the Promotion Agreement. The exact terms are site-specific and should be reviewed by the landowner’s independent legal and tax advisers.

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What “Fully Funded” Means in Our Promotion Model

Fully funded promotion means that Strategic Land Company commits its own capital to the agreed promotion strategy. We appoint the consultant team, pay the approved invoices and manage the work on the landowner's behalf.

The funding can extend over a significant period and may cover several planning stages. A site requiring Local Plan allocation can involve repeated submissions, technical updates and consultation work before a planning application is made. A site proceeding by application may require concentrated expenditure on surveys, design and evidence.

The scope is recorded in the Promotion Agreement and developed through the project strategy. It does not mean that every possible cost connected with the land becomes our responsibility. Independent legal advice, tax advice and matters unrelated to promotion normally remain for the landowner, unless the agreement expressly provides otherwise.

Planning and Technical Costs We May Fund

The required disciplines depend on the site. Agreed promotion expenditure may include:

Planning policy advice, Local Plan representations and application preparation.
Masterplanning, urban design, architectural and landscape work.
Highways, access, transport and movement assessments.
Flood-risk, drainage, water and utilities advice.
Ecology, biodiversity, trees, landscape and visual assessment.
Heritage, archaeology, ground conditions, contamination and other specialist studies.
Community engagement, application fees and planning appeal work where justified.
Sales preparation, data-room organisation and agreed professional marketing support.

We commission only the work needed for the strategy and stage. A proportionate sequence protects both the promotion budget and the quality of the planning case.

Landowner partnership

Why work with us?

We fully fund and manage the planning process on your behalf.

We take on all the risk. If we are unsuccessful in securing planning permission, all costs are written off and it won't cost you a penny.

Our interests are fully aligned with yours. As we are paid on a pre-agreed percentage of the sale proceeds, it is in our own interests to maximise the value of your land.

Our experienced team of experts will give you the best possible chance of securing planning permission.

You retain full ownership and control of your land throughout the planning process.

We will always listen to your needs and will keep you fully updated throughout the whole process.

Free Land Assessment

Simply fill in the form below to receive your Free, No-Obligation Land Assessment

Name

Email address

Telephone number

Post Code

Land size (acres)

By submitting this form, you ask Strategic Land Company to assess your enquiry and contact you about your land. We use your information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Why Expenditure Is Staged Rather Than Committed All at Once

Planning evidence should be commissioned in the right order. Early work may identify an access, policy, ecology or infrastructure issue that changes the design or timing. It would be wasteful to complete every report before those fundamental questions are understood.

We therefore use staged decision points. Initial policy and technical screening informs the concept. Seasonal surveys are programmed where required. More detailed design and assessment follow when the evidence supports continued investment.

This is not a lack of commitment. It is responsible project management. Strategic Land Company remains incentivised to progress an opportunity, but each item of expenditure must support a defined planning or commercial purpose.

Who Carries the Risk if the Promotion Is Unsuccessful?

Strategic Land Company carries the agreed promotion cost and risk under the terms of the Promotion Agreement. If the promotion does not achieve the agreed outcome and no sale takes place, the approved planning expenditure is normally written off rather than invoiced to the landowner.

This allows the landowner to pursue a potentially substantial planning uplift without having to risk personal capital on a process with no guaranteed outcome. It also means we undertake careful due diligence before offering terms, because our own funds are at risk.

The agreement should state clearly what is treated as promotion expenditure, what happens at expiry or termination and whether any exceptional circumstances alter the normal risk allocation. Independent legal advice is essential so the landowner understands those provisions.

Costs the Landowner Should Still Plan For

A funded promotion arrangement does not remove the need for independent advice. The landowner should budget for their own solicitor and tax adviser, including advice on the Promotion Agreement, ownership structure, succession, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and the timing of any sale.

Existing land-management costs, mortgage arrangements, tenancy matters and works the landowner independently chooses to undertake may also remain outside the promotion budget. If title defects, ownership restructuring or third-party agreements are required, responsibility will depend on the circumstances and agreed terms.

We seek to identify these matters early so the distinction between promoter-funded work and landowner responsibilities is transparent.

How Strategic Land Company Is Paid

Our fee is agreed before the Promotion Agreement is completed. It is normally calculated as a pre-agreed percentage of the sale proceeds or net sale proceeds, as defined in the agreement, and becomes payable only if the promotion succeeds and the land is sold.

Because our remuneration is linked to the sale outcome, we have a direct commercial interest in securing a deliverable planning permission, controlling unnecessary costs and achieving the strongest reliable market offer. This is different from a consultancy fee charged regardless of outcome.

The percentage, cost treatment and any minimum landowner protections are negotiated for the particular site. They should not be assumed from another transaction or a general industry example.

How Promotion Costs Are Treated on a Successful Sale

The Promotion Agreement states how approved costs are dealt with from the sale proceeds. A common structure provides for the gross receipt to be adjusted in the agreed order for promotion costs, the promoter's fee and any other defined items, with the remaining net proceeds paid to the landowner.

The definitions matter. The agreement should identify which costs can be recovered, how they are evidenced, whether any categories require approval and how interest, taxes or transaction expenses are treated. The landowner's solicitor should review the mechanism carefully.

Throughout the promotion, we maintain cost records and provide reporting in accordance with the agreement so that expenditure is not first revealed at the point of sale.

Budget Control and Value Protection

Spending more does not automatically produce a better planning outcome. Our role is to commission the evidence needed to overcome material issues while avoiding duplication and poorly sequenced work.

We prepare scopes, obtain and review fee proposals, monitor consultant performance and challenge additional work that is not justified. Technical findings are shared across the team so reports use consistent assumptions and the masterplan is updated before conflicts become embedded.

Budget control also protects land value. Planning obligations, infrastructure solutions and design changes are assessed for deliverability. An apparent permission that carries disproportionate costs may be difficult to sell or may produce a lower net land receipt.

Transparency, Reporting and Landowner Approval

The landowner should understand the strategy, progress and material expenditure. Reporting arrangements are established under the Promotion Agreement and may include regular written updates, budget summaries, programme reviews and discussions before major submissions or appeals.

The promoter needs sufficient authority to manage day-to-day work efficiently. The landowner retains approval rights over the matters specified in the agreement, particularly important changes to the planning objective, sale strategy and other commercial decisions.

This balance enables us to act as the project client while ensuring that the landowner is not excluded from decisions that materially affect the land or eventual transaction.

What Happens When Planning Policy or Evidence Changes?

Land promotion is exposed to changing policy, council programmes, technical guidance and market conditions. A Local Plan may be delayed, a site assessment may change or new evidence may require further work.

Our funding commitment is managed through the agreed promotion period and strategy. We review whether continued expenditure remains proportionate, whether the route should change and whether an extension or revised objective needs to be discussed.

Changes are not hidden from the landowner. We explain the implications, options and recommended response in accordance with the reporting and approval provisions.

When Fully Funded Promotion May Be Suitable

The model may suit landowners who believe their land has residential potential but do not wish to fund or manage a complex planning process. It can also assist families, estates, farmers, businesses and groups of owners who require coordinated professional management over a longer period.

It is not suitable for every parcel. We must be satisfied that there is a realistic planning route, deliverable access, sufficient control and a commercial outcome capable of supporting the likely expenditure and risk.

An initial site assessment allows us to decide whether the opportunity merits detailed due diligence and a discussion about promotion terms.

How Funded Promotion Differs From Self-Funding and an Option Sale

A landowner can choose to appoint consultants and fund planning work directly. That preserves full control but also places the cost, coordination burden and risk of an unsuccessful outcome on the landowner. Complex or long-term promotion can require substantial capital and active project management over several planning stages.

A consultancy arrangement may provide specialist advice for agreed fees, but the consultant is normally paid whether or not the land ultimately receives permission or sells. Under our funded promotion model, Strategic Land Company invests in the agreed work and is remunerated only through a successful sale under the Promotion Agreement.

An option arrangement is different again. A developer may obtain the right to buy the land itself on an agreed valuation or discount mechanism. Under the promotion model described here, the promoted land is normally marketed competitively to third-party purchasers after the planning objective is achieved. The parties share an interest in improving the planning position and achieving the strongest reliable sale outcome.

Each structure has legal, tax and commercial implications. The landowner should obtain independent advice and compare the complete terms rather than select an arrangement solely by reference to a headline fee percentage.

What a Successful Funded Promotion Outcome Looks Like

Success is not measured only by receiving a planning decision. The permission or allocation must support a deliverable scheme, the principal infrastructure and planning obligations must be understood, and the opportunity must be capable of attracting credible purchasers.

We therefore consider the eventual sale throughout the planning process. Technical evidence, access arrangements, planning conditions and development assumptions are organised so bidders can assess the land without applying unnecessary contingencies. Where planning requirements would materially reduce the net receipt, we seek proportionate solutions during negotiation.

The final outcome is the completed open-market sale under the Promotion Agreement. At that point the agreed costs and fee are dealt with from the proceeds and the landowner receives the remaining balance. Until completion, our funding, project management and commercial interests remain tied to achieving that result.

Landowner questions

Questions About Funded Promotion

Do I pay planning or consultant costs upfront?

Under our normal funded promotion model, Strategic Land Company pays the agreed planning and technical costs. The scope, budget controls and any exceptions are recorded in the Promotion Agreement.

What happens to the costs if planning is not secured?

Approved promotion expenditure is normally carried by Strategic Land Company and written off if the promotion ends unsuccessfully without a sale, subject to the agreed breach, termination and exceptional provisions.

When is Strategic Land Company paid?

Our pre-agreed promoter’s fee is normally payable from the sale proceeds when the promoted land is successfully sold. The fee basis, recoverable costs and payment order are agreed before the Promotion Agreement is completed.

Does fully funded mean every landowner expense is paid?

No. The landowner normally remains responsible for independent legal and tax advice, existing ownership or land-management costs and matters outside the agreed promotion scope unless a different contribution is expressly agreed.

Can I see how much has been spent?

Yes. Promotion expenditure is recorded and reported in accordance with the agreement. The promoter manages routine approved costs, while material budget changes and defined categories are dealt with through the agreed reporting or approval process.

Why does Strategic Land Company take the financial risk?

We are paid only if the agreed promotion produces a successful sale. That potential reward justifies investing our capital, expertise and time, but it also means we assess each opportunity carefully before committing.