Balancing Investor Expectations with Local Market Realities

Case Study

Sector: Property Development
Location: Sydney metropolitan region
Client: Confidential
Project Value: AUD $15+ million
Project Duration: 1 year

• Background

  A consortium of international investors targeted a residential-led mixed-use project to diversify their portfolio.

• Challenge

  Lacking knowledge of local procurement norms, the investor pushed for high cost certainty per tranche, creating a risk of adopting unsuitable contract structures.

• Our Approach

  We provided benchmarking and local market data, recommended higher upfront design investment, and secured early terms agreements and MoUs with key stakeholders. A tailored risk allocation matrix was also prepared to balance investor expectations with market norms.

• Solution implemented

  Local market evidence and risk analysis were embedded into negotiations. Early-stage agreements formalised stakeholder alignment, while design development reduced cost uncertainty and prevented unsuitable contract structures.

• Results

  The investor achieved greater cost certainty across tranches, avoided misaligned procurement practices, and entered negotiations with a clear, evidence-based risk position.

• Key Takeaways

  • Early benchmarking prevents costly missteps in unfamiliar markets.

  • Upfront design spend reduces downstream risk.

  • Early MoUs secure stakeholder alignment before contracts are finalised.

  • A structured risk allocation matrix preserves investor certainty while respecting market norms.