The technical due diligence checklist we run before acquisition

What we look at on a site before a client commits capital — and the findings that most often change the price.

Technical due diligence is not a formality performed to satisfy a lender. It is the last moment at which information is free: before the purchase, every finding is a negotiating position; after it, every finding is a cost.

The site itself

Topography and earthworks implications, geotechnical conditions, drainage and flood exposure, access and construction logistics, existing structures and demolition scope. Earthworks and access are the two items that most often carry a number nobody expected.

Regulatory position

Zoning and land-use constraints, setbacks and coverage, environmental requirements, concession status where applicable, and the realistic duration of the approvals required for the intended use. Not what is permitted in principle — what is achievable in practice, and by when.

Infrastructure and services

Water availability and capacity, electrical supply, wastewater treatment obligations, telecoms and road access. Utility capacity is a frequent constraint on tourism-sector sites and rarely resolves quickly.

Programme and cost model

A preliminary master schedule and cost model built from the findings above, with a risk register that prices the significant unknowns rather than noting them.

The deliverable

A prioritised report: what we found, what it means commercially, what it is likely to cost, and what we recommend. Short enough to be read by a decision-maker, detailed enough to be defended to a lender.