SQ.FT Stories

Dan Carey is a founding partner of the Faction businesses, including Faction Platform and Faction Capital, which are built around fractionalisation in commercial real estate, and Faction Legacy, a non profit aimed at young people coming into the industry. Before that, Dan spent close to twenty years in commercial real estate, starting as a broker at The Instant Group and going on to hold senior project and director roles in design and build at AIS, Thirdway, Quarterback and, most recently, Workplace Creations. In this episode, Dan brings a perspective that covers both sides of the table. He has delivered workspace projects as a design and build leader, and he is now building new models for how commercial real estate is owned and invested in. His view is that the industry has to change the way it works if it wants to get somewhere new. We explore: - Why Dan believes the future of commercial real estate is fractionalisation, and how anyone makes money from it - What close to twenty years in design and build has taught him about how commercial real estate really gets delivered - Why the quality of meetings, conversations and relationships was better 30 years ago, before phones diluted them - Why honesty and integrity become more valuable as technology and automation take over - What “your network is your net worth” actually means in practice - How working collaboratively, with egos aside and a common purpose, can lead to outcomes that aren’t otherwise possible - Why Faction Legacy is the project that gets Dan out of bed in the morning Dan has worked at nearly every level of the commercial real estate world, from broker to regional director, and he has a clear view on what has to change. His line is that what has got the industry to here isn’t going to get it to there. If you work anywhere in commercial real estate, from agency to design and build, this one is worth a listen.

Paul Meyer is the original founder of Jade Aden Interiors and spent 25 years running a subcontract partitions and ceilings business before non-payment from multiple main contractors brought it down. Starting out in 1990, Paul built his business the old fashioned way, through relationships, reputation and knowing how to sell. It worked for two and a half decades until the money stopped coming in from the people above him in the chain. In this episode, Paul talks honestly about all of it. The business he built, how it ended, and what the industry has lost in the years since. He has a clear view on where construction has gone wrong. The art of selling has quietly disappeared. Relationships that used to be built face to face are now handled over email. And the margins and business culture of today look nothing like they did when he started out in 1990. We explore: - How non-payment from three or four main contractors brought down a business that had traded successfully for 25 years - What the subcontract world looked like in the 1990s and how the industry has changed since - Why the art of selling in construction has become a lost skill and what it actually looked like when it was done properly - How relationship building used to win more work than any tender process and why that has almost disappeared - What business and margin looked like in construction 20 to 30 years ago compared to today - Why communication and human connection matter more than ever in an industry that has largely abandoned both Paul has lived through the best and worst of what this industry can do to a business. This is an honest conversation about selling, relationships, money and what happens when the people above you in the chain stop paying. If you have spent any time in the subcontract world, this one will resonate.

Colin Wood is the founder of EthosEQ, an independent cost consultancy working with some of the UK’s most recognisable corporate occupiers on capital projects spanning hundreds of thousands of square feet.  Before going out on his own, Colin spent years at director level inside two of the biggest names in cost consultancy, Turner and Townsend and Colliers, giving him a ground level understanding of how the numbers work on projects at every scale. In this episode, Colin talks honestly about what the construction industry consistently gets wrong with money, why most projects are set up to fail financially before anyone gets on site, and why cost certainty should never be an afterthought. He believes everyone in the chain deserves a fair margin, that early engagement is the only thing that genuinely protects a budget, and that the human relationships behind a project will always matter more than any technology that tries to replace them. We explore: - Why most construction projects carry financial risk that was baked in long before tender went out - What contractors consistently get wrong within the process and how it costs everyone - What the ideal project looks like from start to finish when cost consultancy is done properly - Why construction will never be a high margin industry and what that means for the businesses operating within it - What true costs on capital projects actually look like and why so few people are honest about them - Why human connection will remain the most important thing on any project even as AI changes everything around it Colin has sat at the top of the corporate cost consultancy world and chosen to build something more focused. This is a conversation about financial reality, early engagement and what it actually takes to deliver a project that works for everyone involved.

John Rowe is the co-founder and commercial director of Bloom Construction, a contractor carving out a very deliberate niche in the UK market. John came over from Australia, where he worked for tier 1 contractors and built his understanding of construction from the ground up, starting as a site manager before moving into the commercial side of the business. In this episode, John brings a data driven perspective you don't often hear from someone running a growing contractor. He is direct about the financial realities of building a construction business, why cashflow is the number that actually matters, and why most businesses don't understand their own finances until it's already too late. Bloom is currently turning over £13 million, targeting £20 million next year, with £50 million the longer term ambition. But John is clear that getting there the wrong way is worse than not getting there at all. We explore: - Why saying no to the wrong project could be the best decision you make. - How growing too quickly creates financial pressure that can destroy a business before it ever reaches its potential - Why Bloom deliberately targets retrofit projects that most contractors won't touch and what makes those jobs commercially attractive - How being number and data orientated changes the way you run a construction business - Why collaboration and problem solving are where the construction industry is at its best - The financial mistakes John has seen contractors make and how to avoid them John is not your typical construction founder. He came from the tools, moved into commercial, and has built a business with a very clear view of the numbers behind every decision.

Westley Harnett is the founder of Satoris, a consultancy, AI and coaching business built for construction owners and founders, with a particular focus on the design and build industry. He has spent three decades working in D&B and describes himself simply as an operator, the glue that holds a business together, and that credibility built on the ground, not just capability on paper, is what shapes everything Satoris does. With over 500 hours of coaching behind him, Westley has built his whole approach around one line: turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, cashflow is king. In this episode, Westley talks candidly about what it actually takes to coach construction founders through growth, from the conversations they need to be having about opportunity to the changes he believes are about to reshape the industry. He explains why so many businesses say yes to the wrong kind of client, why understanding your position in the market matters as much as chasing new work, and why founder freedom, not just a bigger turnover, should be the real end goal. We explore: Why "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, cashflow is king" is the mindset shift Westley coaches into every business he works with How to categorise your ICPs properly, so you stop saying yes to the wrong kind of business What payment terms, timescales and client selection should actually look like before you take a contract on Building a network map and understanding exactly where you sit within it Why putting your energy into your "dream 20" clients changes the whole trajectory of a business What an AI driven operating system means in practice for SME construction businesses turning over between £1m and £20m Why the pace of change coming to construction, and D&B in particular, means the businesses that embrace it now will be the ones with a future in it, in the UK and beyond Westley isn't interested in chasing growth for its own sake. He wants founders working towards real freedom, not just a bigger number on the turnover line, and he's direct about the fact that Satoris exists to guide businesses through the change already heading their way.

Andrew Smith is UK MD of OWA, a ceiling and acoustics manufacturer supplying main contractors and distributors across the country.   Andrew has spent 40 years in construction, 20 of them at OWA, watching the industry from every angle a supplier can sit in. He has built his career on a straightforward view of the industry, one that has little patience for a specification process that still isn't fit for purpose and even less for a business culture that reaches for blame before accountability.   In this episode, Andrew talks honestly about what he has seen from the supplier's side of construction, an industry he describes bluntly as one that always looks to suppliers first when a budget needs cutting.   He explains why value engineering almost always lands on suppliers, why specification still isn't good enough despite the changes forced through since Grenfell, and why the industry leans on blame culture instead of taking real accountability.   We explore: Why the squeeze on budgets always seems to land on suppliers first How the specification process has changed since Grenfell and why it still isn't good enough Why construction leans on blame culture instead of accountability when things go wrong How OWA has evolved its products and adapted to what the market actually wants Why the skills shortage won't be solved until the industry becomes somewhere people want to work The collaboration and brotherhood Andrew has seen onsite, and why staying nimble is what keeps a supplier relevant   Andrew is not interested in sugar coating any of it. He wants suppliers treated as partners rather than the easiest place to cut, and he is direct about calling out what isn't working across construction.   If you think the squeeze always lands somewhere else, this episode will change your mind.

Jack Rumbol is the Managing Director of Havio, a health and safety consultancy working exclusively across the construction industry. On this podcast he has earned the nickname Mr Health and Safety, and it is not hard to see why. Jack has built his career on a straightforward view of the industry, one that has little patience for box ticking and even less for the idea that a wall full of accreditations makes anyone safer. In this episode, Jack talks honestly about what he has seen inside construction, an industry he describes bluntly as dysfunctional and, at times, dog eat dog. He explains why five or six accreditations mean almost nothing on the ground, why he only takes on clients who align with how Havio actually operates, and why health and safety only works when the whole business owns it, not just the person whose job title says so. We explore: How Jack got into health and safety and what pulled him toward the industry Why accreditations get treated as proof of safety when they rarely reflect what is happening on site The dysfunction Jack sees across construction and how it shapes the way Havio chooses who to work with Why Havio focuses solely on fit out and main contractors and turns away work that doesn't fit Why most of Havio's business comes through word of mouth and what that says about trust in this industry What actually serves the industry when it comes to health and safety, and where Jack sees it heading next Jack is not interested in compliance for the sake of it. He wants to work with the right people, on the right projects, and he is direct about calling out what isn't working across construction. If you think health and safety is someone else's job, this episode will change your mind.

Alistair Blenkin is the founder of ProcurePro, an AI powered procurement platform built specifically for the construction industry. Before building the business, Alistair was a lawyer, which gives him a sharper eye than most for where construction contracts, commitments and costs quietly go wrong before anyone notices. ProcurePro has just raised $15 million to continue building out its AI powered procurement control for construction, putting the business at a valuation of around $100 million. It is not a small bet on where the industry is heading. In this episode Alistair talks honestly about what the construction industry is getting wrong with procurement, where the margin is actually going, and why most firms don’t even know what they’re losing until it’s too late. We explore: - Why construction procurement is still largely manual and what that is costing businesses in real margin - How AI can surface cost drift, approval delays and supply chain risk before they become problems on site - Why the construction industry is years behind other sectors in adopting technology and what happens to the firms that stay that way - How ProcurePro connects with the systems contractors already use without adding more admin or disruption - What it actually takes to raise serious money in construction tech and how Alistair got there from a legal background - Why margin loss rarely comes from one big decision and how to spot the pattern before it compounds Alistair is not your typical construction guest. He came from law, built a $100 million business, and has a very clear view of where the industry is bleeding money and why most people running construction businesses have no idea it’s happening.

Rob Venice is the founder of Motive, a creative collective bringing together artists, project managers and marketeers to design workspaces that actually make people feel something when they walk in. Before founding Motive in 2022, Rob spent a decade at the sharp end of office design and build. He came up through Denton, became Creative Director at Thirdway, and co-founded product design firm Kaelo alongside his day job. He has led teams through some of the most ambitious workspace pitches in London and knows better than most what it takes to win work on the strength of a creative vision. In this episode, Rob is honest about what that world actually looks like from the inside. We explore: - Why designers are the engine behind every great pitch but rarely see the recognition or reward that follows - How value engineering consistently strips out the creative work first and why that never gets challenged - The problem with rewarding designers when there is no clean metric for what they actually contribute - Why Rob hit the ceiling at every company he worked for before deciding to build something of his own. Rob is one of those guests who has clearly thought hard about the gap between what the industry produces and what it could produce. This is a conversation about creativity, recognition and what happens when the person with the vision finally stops working for someone else. If you work in design and build, this one will hit close to home.

James Hunt runs a non profit plumbing and heating company and has spent years building charitable initiatives that give back to the community around him. But the road to get there was anything but straightforward. Growing up in a different country, dealing with bullying, and falling into a drug addiction that lasted years, James has lived through the kind of experiences that break most people. It took multiple ayahuasca retreats to finally find a way through, and watching his wife nearly lose her life in hospital gave him the clarity to turn everything he had been through into something meaningful. In this episode, James tells that story without dressing it up. We explore: - The reality of long term drug addiction and what it actually takes to come out the other side - Why ayahuasca worked when nothing else did - How nearly losing his wife became the moment everything shifted - What it looks like to build a non profit in the trades and why it's harder than running a normal business - The challenge of scaling something when you can't reinvest profit the way a commercial business would James is the kind of guest who has genuinely lived it. This isn't a motivational story dressed up for a podcast. It's an honest conversation about addiction, purpose, loss and what you do with the years you almost didn't have. If this one doesn't make you think, nothing will.