He's Been Involved in Over £1billion of UK Property Development! | Steven Carnes: Ep 111
Steve Carnes is a property developer with over 30 years’ experience in the industry, having worked at Knight Frank and Savills, before moving into property development full-time. Since then, he’s delivered north of £1 billion in GDV across city centre conversions, tower buildings and large-scale mixed-use schemes. In this episode, Steve pulls back the curtain on what large-scale development actually involves, from navigating complex planning processes and the challenges of developing in city centres, to how his materials increased by £2million overnight, why it can genuinely be easier to borrow £50 million than £5 million, his unfiltered take on Manchester versus London, and how he structures deals to protect against the risks most developers don’t see coming. If you’ve ever wondered what separates developers working on 1-2bed strategies from those taking on major tower and mixed-use developments, this is the episode to listen to. 🎟️ Join us live at the Property Developer Show as we tour different cities across the UK in 2026! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect, learn, and grow within the property development community. Register for free tickets at: https://propertydevelopershow.co.uk 🎟️ Commercial Property Expo is heading to Manchester on 4th November 2026! The UK's first must-attend event dedicated to the world of commercial real estate, investment, and development. Grab your free ticket at: https://commercialpropertyexpo.co.uk/ 🏡 Partner offers for property entrepreneurs: PDBC: £50 off a 12-month membership: A dedicated discount club that gives property developers & landlords access to exclusive deals, discounts, and preferential rates on the products and services you use regularly. Use code: PDS to secure the discount: https://pdbc.uk/ GoHighLevel: 30-day free trial: Your all-in-one CRM and automation hub to manage deal pipelines, client communications, handle follow-ups and help you simplify your process: https://www.gohighlevel.com/property-developer-show TerraQuest: Find and assess land using exclusive data from national planning portal: https://www.terraquest.co.uk/ 📱 Property Developer Show: https://instagram.com/propertydevelopershow/ https://tiktok.com/@propertydevelopershow https://linkedin.com/company/property-developer-show https://facebook.com/propertydevelopershow Contact Steve: https://www.meadwaydevelopments.co.uk/ https://instagram.com/meadwaydevelopments/ *Steve has since confirmed that the Chester development was renamed HQ Chester 00:00 Coming up 00:21 What does it take to be a successful property developer? 01:46 Steve’s property journey 08:05 Property Developer Show 08:40 Commercial Property Expo 09:20 What risk really looks like in large scale development 14:03 Over £1billion GDV 14:25 Favourite scheme to date 17:24 Planning process 20:33 Planning corruption : the red line that shouldn’t exist 26:04 How to keep moving forwards in a difficult market 28:47 AI in property development 32:41 Knight Frank, Savills and building the northern market 36:51 TerraQuest 37:18 Property Developer Buying Club 38:03 Making the transition from agent to developer 41:11 How Steve structures and funds deals 50:38 Going from £100k to £1million 52:16 How to follow Steve & reach out Property Developer Show ©️ serves solely as a podcast platform. The perspectives and opinions presented by our guests, sponsors, and third-party contributors are independent and do not represent our own views, nor should they be considered as investment advice. We do not provide guidance on investment strategies for individuals or organisations. It is recommended that all investment decisions be approached with caution under the supervision of professional advice. Some episodes, descriptions, or related content may contain affiliate links. If you choose to use these links, Property Developer Show may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Property Developer Show is a trading style of Voxity Media Ltd. ©️ 2025 Voxity Media Ltd.





