The British commercial development industry

Academic and professional accounts of the commercial development industry often portray an implicit but false picture of homogeneity, when in reality the sector is highly diverse. This diversity has important implications for the production of the built environment, since the extent to which particular developers see themselves also as dealers or investors will colour their approach to a development project. Building on earlier work, this paper therefore presents a four-fold typology of the British commercial development industry, by distinguishing between property dealers, developer/dealers, developer/investors and investor/developers. Recent case studies are included in each case to demonstrate how the motives, operations and financial stability of each type of developer reflect this distinction.