Sector: Private Developer

Analysis

Salary packages in this sector look mouthwatering, and it is important to point out that the figures above are actual bonuses rather than promised targets, and don't include the company car that also generally comes with the job. But the downside of working in development is that the bonus-driven culture generates big pressure to perform, and the housing market slowdown makes the private sector a more high-risk business than ever. PSD Group's O'Neill has another word of caution: “Salaries are generally continuing to climb and can look excellent on joining. But once on board, pay reviews are at best modest.”

One of the biggest challenges for housebuilders working in regeneration could well be retaining staff. At current levels of staff turnover a typical 10-year regeneration project would be managed by four different development directors. Staff turnover is lowest in the South-west and North-east, where pay and benefits are lower.

Regionally, the South-east and London, and the North-west emerge as the highest payers in our survey and have the highest levels of staff turnover. The high salary rates in the North-west reflect the demand for high levels of skills and experience to work around the region's planning moratorium.

Deborah Aplin development director, Crest Nicholson Projects

Present role Phone Deborah Aplin and you are likely to find that she is travelling. That is not unusual for anyone involved in sourcing and bringing through sites for a developer, but while most housebuilders’ land directors operate within a relatively small region, Aplin covers the entire area from Manchester down to the south coast. Aplin is one of Crest Nicholson Projects’ six-strong team, concentrating on residential-led regeneration sites of 500-plus units, where mixed use means more than a few apartments above a shop. Aplin’s workload includes Bath Western Riverside, a project of 2500 homes and 100,000 m2 of commercial space.

Nowadays nothing in development is exclusive; it is now a question of having that spark that makes your site different

Career path Aplin has only been working for the company since last September, but she came to the job with a lot of experience, gained in the private sector. She started her career working as jack of all trades for a developer in the South-west, buying sites, designing the show homes and even selling the end product at the weekends. From there she went to George Wimpey, before moving to London and ultimately working for Berkeley Speyhawk, the embryonic St George. She remained with the company for 15 years.

Past versus present Working at Berkeley Speyhawk was a pivotal point in Aplin’s career, taking her from pure housebuilding into regeneration. “I was working for Trevor Osborne, a master of commercial property, and Tony Pidgley, a master of residential. That gave me my commercial understanding of how institutions like to work and how you bring commercial and residential sides together. In the early 1990s St George was very different. We picked up some key projects because housebuilders wouldn’t touch them because of the commercial element, and commercial developers wouldn’t touch them because of the residential element.”

Likes about the job? “The variety. You never know who is going to ring and what is going to be on offer. Even though you know the market you can always get a call you don’t expect. I also love the competitiveness of it. Nowadays nothing in development is exclusive; it is now a question of having that spark of inspiration that will make your site different.

Biggest personal regeneration challenge? “Bath Western Riverside, because it is in a World Heritage City, it was an industrial site, it was inaccessible. It needs vibrancy, to fit into the city and we need to bring local people along with it. There is the nervousness of getting it right.”

Is regeneration getting tougher or easier? “Both. It is getting tougher because it is more competitive and more developers are doing it – but without understanding the full picture in respect of things like sustainability. It is getting easier because there is more focus on it now. There is more business interest. Homebuyers understand it and want to be part of a vibrant community, investors look at it more carefully and supermarkets are now designing to fit back into the high street. And the government is pushing the agenda.”