Gray Scanlan Hill
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  • Work
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0161 528 7690

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We are delighted to announce we have joined Anstey Horne

We continue with our commitment to provide the highest level of service to clients, supplemented by the Anstey Horne team who have an enviable reputation in the delivery of specialist technical advice. Click the button below for the full story and for details of our expanded range of services.

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  • Independent

    Gray Scanlan Hill is a niche firm of Chartered Building Surveyors with a few simple principles: we provide independent, experienced, specialist advice consistently.

  • As chartered building surveyors, our services are delivered with specific commercial and technical understanding, a supportive nature and a desire to help our clients accomplish great things.

    Specialist

  • Expertise

    We understand the importance of enhancing and maintaining asset value, the need to prioritise and simplify complex issues and ultimately where we, as building surveyors, can help you.

Work

Our track record speaks for itself and we invite you to look at our fancy footwork.

The type of property and instructions we advise on are typically diverse, interesting and often throw up a host of complex technical and commercial challenges. Providing advice that ‘hits the spot’ is what we’re good at.  

Our experience means we can assist in the vast majority of building surveying instructions.  We have worked on some iconic buildings and are more than happy to get stuck into those tricky assets too. We’ve worked on industrial buildings, offices, retail, mixed use property and bespoke property.

Our portfolio below is a small fraction of what we do but each one has been selected to demonstrate how our approach works for our clients.

Scroll down to view some of our projects

Callflex Business Park

3 St Peter’s Square

188-192 Deansgate

Oddfellows House

Exchange Station

M58 Business Park

Soccer Dome

Manchester Hall

49 King Street

196 Deansgate

Saxon Cross Petrol Filling Station

B&M and Aldi

Services

We provide a wide range of building surveying services.

Our advice is always independent, free from conflict or cross selling. We only act in our clients’ best interests and tailor our advice to support their commercial objectives. We get results. Whether you are a landlord of commercial property, an investor, developer or an owner occupier, we can provide all the specialist building surveying advice you need.

Our services are flexible and choreographed to the suit the specific requirements of an instruction.  We can work fluidly on fixed fees, capped fees or a time charge basis where relevant to the advice provided and clients’ needs.  

Click the icons below to view our services by client requirements.

Asset Managers

Developers

Occupiers

Gray Scanlan Hill have demonstrated consistently that the advice we provide matters.

We’ve been instrumental in ‘tidying up’ assets, plugging gaps in missing paperwork, putting in place strategic maintenance procedures and administering targeted refurbishment work, amongst other things.

We work regularly with a variety of investors and asset managers. The expertise we offer has made us a trusted advisor to a number of long-standing clients.

Property Acquisition Building Surveys & Technical Due Diligence

We have many years of experience inspecting and reporting on individual buildings and portfolios of all types and sizes. We know the time constraints you are under to clear surveys and we know you need to see the bigger picture, quickly. We offer immediate feedback and balanced commercial advice putting risks and costs into context so that you can proceed with confidence.

Dilapidations Services

With market leading expertise, we can very quickly appraise leases and advise you on the strength and weaknesses of mid and term end actions, how best to deal with them and how to maximise the recovery of any losses when your tenant fails to address their contractual obligations. You can rely on us to evidence the tenant’s failings (…. it’s all about the breaches) and prepare a credible schedule. Equally, you can rely on us to develop a strategy to bring about a resolution – we are very conscious that a quick commercial settlement might well be in your interest.

Schedules of Condition

Essential for protecting you against the risks of spurious claims for damages following construction activity and for benchmarking condition pre-lease or transfer. Our annotated photographic schedules provide a degree of detail that leaves no room for doubt.

Project Management, Refurbishment & Fit-Out

Successful works bring buildings and spaces back to life to provide valuable income. The capability to take a good brief, interpret requirements, design well, procure to the right suppliers, work with professional teams and contractors to deliver the right solution, is crucial. We can provide the experience and practical know-how to deliver your project in line with requirements.

Development Monitoring

When you’re providing development funding, you need to know the risks as and when they arise. We can undertake your due diligence, be your eyes and ears on procurement, cost, quality and programme throughout the scheme to keep your investment safe.

Licences for Alterations

You want to know that the work your tenant proposes doesn’t adversely impact upon your investment or the value of your property. As your representative, we can protect all your interests and ensure your tenant treats your property with the respect it deserves and leaves it in the same state at lease end.

Expert Witness & Technical Reports

Sometimes things go wrong, defects present themselves, a dispute arises; it happens. What happens next and the decisions you make are critical. The advice you receive is pivotal in this decision-making process. We aim to provide objective, well-balanced technical reports, with facts trumping opinion, wherever possible. We are happy to act as an advisor or take instruction from solicitors and prepare CPR35 complaint expert reports for Court.

Portfolio Reviews, Condition Surveys & Planned Maintenance

It is good to know what’s around the corner. We can help you plan and prioritise maintenance for accruals, funding and / or service charge management. Undertaking building condition appraisals and preparing Planned Maintenance Programmes (“PMPs”) is of course a core building surveying skill; however, not all PMPs do the job – our objective has always been to tailor something that is relevant to the building and the Client’s purse and, importantly, something that will be adopted and used by the FM Team – one size rarely fits all.

Building Reinstatement Cost Assessments

Need your buildings assessing for the purposes of insurance? We can help you by undertaking Building Reinstatement Cost Assessments on individual buildings and portfolios to help you make sure you are insured at an appropriate level.

With complex laws and regulations that govern development near the land of another, you need to know that your Neighbourly Matters Consultant cuts the mustard.

De-risking projects is something that we ultimately help developers with whether it be Rights of Light Advice, Daylight & Sunlight advice, Party Wall or advice on condition.

With industry leading professionals and dedicated specialist expertise, you’re in good hands.

Rights of Light

The existence of rights of light can present a significant risk for your development. Our two-stage approach is designed to highlight any risks with preliminary advice to minimise abortive time and expense and detailed technical analysis to enable you to optimise the full potential of your development site.

Party Walls

Through early and proactive involvement, we can identify and minimise the risk to your development scheme, from the preliminary design stage through to the right resolution of any disputes as an appointed surveyor.

Condition Records

Essential for protecting against risks of spurious claims for damages following construction activity, the quality of your records of condition of boundary or neighbouring structures is crucial. Our annotated photographic schedules provide a degree of detail that leaves no room for doubt.

Oversailing and Access

Undertaking development on confined sites may require the use of neighbouring land and the space above. We can identify the risks at an early stage and assist you in securing the consent required to avoid trespass and achieve the most cost-effective method of construction.

Property Acquisition & Technical Due Diligence

With many years of experience inspecting and reporting on commercial buildings of all types and sizes, we know you need to see the big picture, quickly. We offer balanced commercial advice on issues, risks and costs, benchmarking the condition of properties you acquire so that you can confidently proceed with your eyes wide open.

Expert Witness & Technical Reports

Sometimes things go wrong, defects present themselves, a dispute arises; it happens. What happens next and the decisions you make are critical. The advice you receive is pivotal in this decision-making process. We aim to provide objective, well-balanced technical reports, with facts trumping opinion, wherever possible. We are happy to act as an advisor or take instruction from solicitors and prepare CPR35 complaint expert reports for Court.

Building Reinstatement Cost Assessments

Need your buildings assessing for the purposes of insurance? We can help you by undertaking Building Reinstatement Cost Assessments on individual buildings and portfolios to help you make sure you are insured at an appropriate level.

Development Monitoring

When you’re providing development funding, you need to know the risks as and when they arise. We can undertake your due diligence, be your eyes and ears on procurement, cost, quality and program throughout the scheme to keep your investment safe.

Portfolio Reviews, Condition Surveys & Planned Maintenance

It is good to know what’s around the corner. We can help you plan and prioritise maintenance for accruals, funding and / or service charge management. Undertaking building condition appraisals and preparing Planned Maintenance Programmes (“PMPs”) is of course a core building surveying skill; however, not all PMPs do the job – our objective has always been to tailor something that is relevant to the building and the Client’s purse and, importantly, something that will be adopted and used by the FM Team – one size rarely fits all.

As an occupier you will face the prospect of leasing and / or buying commercial premises to trade from or call home.

We can help you ensure they provide an appropriate working environment, compliant with industry legislation and assist you plan, procure and budget for growth or consolidation. Let us take some of the stress away from property occupation so that you can get on with your primary objective, running your business.

Pre-Lease Building Surveys & Technical Due Diligence

Forewarned is forearmed. We can advise you on the space or buildings you are committing to, advise you on the lease obligations you will be taking on and the suitability of the accommodation for your business. Fully informed, you will have the opportunity to negotiate sensible terms with your prospective landlord and finesse your fit-out specification to address any base build design shortcomings.

Dilapidations Services

With market leading expertise and negotiation experience, we can advise on any dilapidations claim you receive and assist in ensuring you don’t pay more than you need to. We can also advise you on how much you should be putting away to cover such obligations at lease end as well as point out timescales, risk and advice. It’s all about being prepared.

Schedules of Condition

Essential for protecting against the risks of spurious claims for damages or future dilapidations claims, the quality of your records of condition is crucial. Our annotated photographic schedules provide a degree of detail that leaves no room for doubt.

Project Management, Refurbishment & Fit Out

Successful works for occupation or to comply with outgoing dilapidation liabilities require a detailed understanding of occupation requirements and business needs. The capability to take a good brief, interpret requirements, design well, procure to the right suppliers, work with professional teams and contractors to deliver the optimum solution, is crucial. We can provide the flair and know-how to deliver your project in line with requirements.

Expert Witness & Technical Reports

Sometimes things go wrong, defects present themselves, a dispute arises; it happens. What happens next and the decisions you make are critical. The advice you receive is pivotal in this decision-making process. We aim to provide objective, well-balanced technical reports, with facts trumping opinion, wherever possible. We are happy to act as an advisor or take instruction from solicitors and prepare CPR35 complaint expert reports for Court.

Condition Surveys & Planned Maintenance

It’s good to know what’s around the corner. Whether your strategy is for future planning, purely reactive, a life-cycle cost forecast or you have an obligation to manage service charge, we can provide a plan for your property that reflects your needs in a user friendly and up to date format. If you don’t want the hassle, we can help implement it for you to!

Clients

We act for property companies, investors, landlords, developers, occupiers and referral agents, and work across a variety of commercial sectors.

Our job is to understand your business needs, develop a strong working relationship, and provide specialist advice with commercial understanding and a completely independent view based on your interests alone.

If commercially focussed, independent expertise is what you require and you are seeking a trusted advisor, we are your perfect partner.

“Emerson has worked with Gray Scanlan Hill over the last 12 years to service our building surveying requirements across the group, predominantly dilapidations and acquisitions, as well as some rights of light and party wall instructions.

I can be a demanding client with exacting standards and I’ve always found that the quality of service I receive from the team exceeds my expectations.

Their experience of dealing with complex issues means that they tend to be my first port of call and I can always rely on their knowledge, understanding and ability to manage expectations resulting in the best possible outcome. A trusted advisor I can depend on.”

Jonathan ClarkDirector

“I have worked with Gray Scanlan Hill (GSH) for approximately eight years on provision of building surveying services, including dilapidations and negotiations, acquisitions surveys, building surveys as well as some project management and tendering.

The reports that GSH produces are very detailed and yet extremely commercial. As a business which is fast paced and having to make decisions quickly about our portfolio, the service provided by GSH is very responsive and fits with our timescales. The team is easy to get along with and is exceptionally knowledgeable. CEG has become a long-standing client of GSH due to its excellent quality, timely advice and reports produced at a reasonable fee level."

Antonia Martin-WrightHead of Investment – North, Commercial Estates Group

“Mulbury City uses Gray Scanlan Hill on rights of light and party wall issues and the service that we receive is always delivered in a most professional manner. Their niche expert advice is delivered in a collaborative and co-operative way and I can always rely on them to be proactive in assisting us in achieving our objectives.”

James AldersonHead of Mulbury City

“We have used Gray Scanlan Hill for Rights of Light and Neighbourly Matters advice across a number of our schemes over the years and have always found their ability to demystify and humanise what can sometimes become a process bogged down with complexity works really well for us. Their advice, whilst technical, professional and in-depth, is imbued with good solid commercial intelligence which is logical and understandable.

Gray Scanlan Hill belongs to a niche group of few experts which are extremely well regarded. They provide director-level support, have in-depth local knowledge and provide advice which is focussed and delivered with a leadership style.”

Andy LavinDirector

Team

Our directors Mike Scanlan, Simon Hill, Darren Hughes and Neil Lovell-Kennedy offer in excess of 100 years’ combined industry experience.

They are supported by a team of time-served professionals, adding 40+ years of hands-on technical building surveying expertise to the team.

 Scroll down to meet the team

Mike Scanlan

Simon Hill

Darren Hughes

Neil Lovell-Kennedy

Sarah Chadwick

David Rawcliffe

Sam Holmes

Stuart Carr

Jerome Muir

Dan Horrocks

Ryan Needham

Michael Johnson

Location

The Old Post Office
63 Newton Street
Manchester
M1 1ET

Contact

0161 528 7690
info@grayscanlanhill.com

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