1 April 2026
Coming Soon
The first edition of Off Your Desk is on its way. A short, sharp read for property developers and construction businesses. One idea. One challenge. No fluff.
Property Development Coach
Performance = Clarity × Action
Coaching for property developers and construction businesses. Run tighter, more profitable projects, and build a stronger business, not just a busier one.
James Ahearne MRICS
Property Development Coach
Is the business running you?
Are you running a property development or construction business, or has it started running you? The work is there, but the business is busy rather than growing, cash is tight in the gaps between projects, and every decision still comes back to you.
Development adds a layer most sectors don't have. Every project is a business in its own right, with its own budget, its own programme, and its own ways to lose money: the appraisal or cost plan that doesn't survive the site, costs past where you priced them, planning as a gamble, margin gone by completion.
That's what I help with. We start with the business as a whole, then get a grip on the projects inside it. Tighter delivery, protected margins, and the decisions that are yours handed back to you.
The system
The Property Development PROFIT System
We work through six areas that decide whether a development or construction business makes money, at both business and project level.
Profit and Cash
Viability, margins and cashflow, at both business and project level.
Revenue and Marketing
The right work, the right sites, protected values.
Operations and Product
Programme, delivery, design, the scheme itself.
Financials and KPIs
Appraisals, cost control, the numbers that flag trouble early.
Innovation and Management
Decisions, problem-solving, repositioning what isn't working.
Team and Leadership
People, consultants and contractors pulling one way.
About
James Ahearne MRICS, Property Development Coach.
James Ahearne MRICS is a chartered surveyor with 22+ years of experience building, leading, and advising businesses across property and development.
He has held land, property, and development director roles for national developers and investors, directing land and development strategy across the UK, from nine years delivering high-volume store development at Lidl UK to leading national strategy for a UK-wide retirement living developer.
Selected work
Schemes shaped and delivered across the UK.
West Byfleet, now Botanical Place
A 197-home whole-life net zero town-centre regeneration, delivered as Development Director at Retirement Villages.
Tunbridge Wells, now Paramount Place
A stalled town-centre site, repositioned into a scheme now being built.
The Holloway, Birmingham
A 485-unit build-to-rent scheme, construction phase delivery for an institutional investor.
What clients say
In their words.
I found myself at a crossroads in my career when I was introduced to James. I had a sense of the direction I wanted to take, but I lacked clarity on the next steps. From our very first conversation, James was incredibly easy to talk to. As ...
I spent 6 months with James as my business coach during the second year of my new start up business. His input was timely and inspired me to implement new ways of thinking and to utilise the systems I had thought I had set up properly but h...
All names withheld. Client confidentiality is non-negotiable.
How clear is your business right now?
Take three minutes to find out where you stand.
Book a call
Momentum, not meetings.
Book a Free Discovery Call
20 minutes. A focused conversation to understand where you are and whether we're the right fit.
Book a Free Business Review
60 minutes. A structured deep-dive into your business. You'll leave with a verified reading of where you are and what needs to happen next.