Cogent has extensive experience acting as Project Manager, Contract Administrator and Employer’s Agent.

Managing construction projects on behalf of our clients is at the core of what we do, whether this is managing the construction of a new build office development, a deep office refurbishment, a new build retail warehouse or refurbishment of an industrial estate. Our knowledge as Chartered Building Surveyors combined with our extensive experience managing project means we can successfully deliver any project from start to finish. This includes managing the project through the early stages of feasibility, planning permissions / statutory approvals, concept design, detailed design – all the way through construction to successful delivery.

We are well versed in managing design teams and wider groups of consultants, monitoring against an agreed programme and budget.

We have expert knowledge of administering construction contracts, either acting as Contract Administrator or Employer’s Agent (depending on whether the project has been procured on a Traditional or Design & Build basis). We understand the standard forms of contract and can effectively administer them. This includes managing payments to contractors and certifying when the project has been completed.

We manage construction projects for a range of clients, including institutional investors, pension funds, developers as well as occupiers.

Cogent is a firm of Chartered Building Surveyors and Project Managers. We are experts in the construction of buildings, whether newly constructed or period properties. We carry out building surveys and technical due diligence for a range of clients in advance of either the purchase of a new building / portfolio of buildings, disposal of an existing building / portfolio of buildings and also for occupiers looking to take a lease of a new building / part of a building.

Our expert knowledge of building defects, including what is needed to remedy these defects – underpinned by our own extensive project experience – enables us to identify risks to our clients so that these risks can be understood and managed during a transaction.

The commercial context of an acquisition / disposal can influence our clients’ exposure to the risks we identify. This is carefully considered when delivering advice so that our clients are absolutely clear what they should be concerned about.

Cogent’s extensive experience in managing construction projects, as well as being Chartered Building Surveyors, enables us to appraise developments from a technical perspective at an early stage in the development’s life. This is typically carried out on behalf of a funder or bank who are looking to forward fund a development project. Our role is to review the project at its current stage of design / procurement and identify key risks to our client’s interest. By identifying the risks at an early stage, the risks can be managed – either eliminating the risk altogether through negotiation with the developer / contractor or mitigating the risk as far as possible.

Once the initial appraisal is finished and the risks have been identified and understood, we are often retained to monitor the development works during the construction stage, as Fund Monitor. This provides our clients with a vital window into the progress of the development as construction progresses, enabling the risks which had been identified to be tracked and concluded. We are also able to identify new risks as the development works progress and these can be raised with the developer / contractor and carefully managed.

Cogent provide expert dilapidations advice, helping both landlords and tenants understand the contractual liability arising from a lease in terms of reinstatement, repair and redecoration.

We prepare schedules of dilapidations on behalf of landlords and tenants, using our knowledge of lease covenants and extensive practical experience of construction when preparing the schedule to identify breaches and remedies for each breach.

We negotiate dilapidations settlements on behalf of our clients, using our knowledge of dilapidations case law and industry best practices.

We also provide landlords and tenants with assessments of the likely dilapidations liability which will accrue at expiry of a lease in advance of this date, to help plan for the future.

Reinstatement Cost Assessments (RCAs) are needed to understand the costs of re-constructing a property in the event an insured risk occurs, such as a fire or explosion, so that appropriate insurance can be put in place. In order to assess the likely cost of re-constructing a property, an RCA is produced.

Cogent produce RCAs for a range of clients and for a range of different property types. Our extensive knowledge and experience of delivering construction projects gives us contemporary cost data to help provide RCAs for a wide range of sectors, including offices, hotels, retail, industrial and PRS.