UK Development

I work in logistics development but know a lot of the players outside of my industry as well. I would say the landscape is a lot like the US in the UK but on a much smaller scale. You have the same "top" developers which a vast are US-originated shops, such as Panattoni, mixed with big UK dev shops, SEGRO, British Land, LANDSEC. These players all fight for the big developments and use their own money. Other names I see in the top are Greystar, Hines, TCC, Tishman Speyer. Then you have the MF who have development platforms. These platforms tend to be specific to developing a sector, such as Mirastar for KKR or Citivale for Partner's Group in logistics. These are operating companies usually given an allocation of a fund to fulfill. Then you have mid sized dev shops such as Brockton Everlast and Henry Boot PLC which will pick your small to mid size range, and every once in a while go into the larger development stuff if the project is right. These are your classic GP developers who will look for capital on a deal by deal basis. And then followed are your small time developers.

IMO, we have a much smaller pool of small time developers because in the UK, the land is very expensive and is difficult to change planning permission. This weeds out people who are cash-strapped because you need a pool of capital to land bank. Of course you see small developers doing single family units or the odd apartment complex but the UK is geographically limited. So to answer your question, the UK still has the tiers of developers in the US, but it is very top heavy with a smaller percentage of developers making up the small time homebuilders. It is very much possible to run your own shop and the GP/LP developer is strong and alive in the UK economy. The biggest hurdle is development is an old-man's game so the more time you sit with a company, the better your reputation before starting your own thing. That being said, I have seen a few blocks that could be apartment conversions which I would quit my job to do (<30) but dont have the capital or network to do it. Example of a successful company, Bloom Developments was started by two friends in their late 20s (graduated masters in 2015), and started Ultra Urban warehouse developments and got backing from TPG Angelo Gordon. Their first development was a wash, just to prove it is a functioning concept and thereafter they have scaled to about 5 developments which are bangers. See my comments regarding masters and segro below as the two founders fit this.

As for career path, the UK LOVES certifications. Unless you are a foreigner, I'd say 90% of developers have a masters in real estate and are MRICS accredited. Most people recognise that the masters is not about learning and is all about networking, which is why Reading is the top masters for real estate. Most developers either start out as a Finance Analyst (promotion into development) or as a Development Surveyor (analyst equivalent) at a development shop. Both of these should be grad programs that take 3 years to complete and will get you your MRICS certification. Another common route is to start out in a brokerage, CBRE, JLL, Savills etc and to do their grad program which also gives you the MRICS. A big difference between the US and UK job markets is that the UK froths over grad programs. It is not like the US where you normally apply for a standalone job. The third route is for everyone else which is going to a development shop and learning on the job where you are not on a grad program and your title may not be a developer until you are fully fledged. This basically becomes a mentor program where you learn directly from one person without any exposure elsewhere. It can either be the best or the worst experience. Personally, there seemed to be a golden age of developers coming from Segro's grad program about 5-10 years ago; these guys are everywhere but Segro now which I find funny. If you want to be a developer, I would do an undergrad at the best university possible, do a summer internship at a major developer, then do a masters at Reading and then the grad program. Some companies will actually pay for your masters, such as Knight Frank, because the network is such an asset.