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CASE STUDY

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Hackney Council Transforms Housing Delivery with SDS Software

Hackney’s housing strategy 2017-22 outlines how Hackney Borough Council intends to realise the vision of delivering the homes Hackney needs. The Borough Council has integrated SDS software into the delivery of the strategy. This case study outlines the housing strategy for 2017-22, and how SDS helps that strategy to become reality.

CATEGORY: ProVal & Sequel

NUMBER OF USERS:

30 ProVal users  |  41 Sequel users

CHALLENGE

Time-consuming, error-prone spreadsheets, limited visibility into financial impacts, and inefficient processes for managing changes, which hindered agile decision-making and effective resource use in housing development. 

RESULT

All involved now on a project have an understanding of the costs being approved, the risks and what other options were considered. This shared knowledge, financial understanding and performance across the team is giving the project managers and Regeneration Teams responsibility and ownership of finance.

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When we set up ProVal, the team spent 2 / 3 days inputting all the parameters which seemed quite resource intensive at the time but now we can see the benefit of that. It would take me about 5 minutes but even for a new project manager joining the team, it would take them no more than 10 minutes to appraise a scheme, because all the parameters are in there. This speed has helped us exponentially.

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REQUEST

From Time-Consuming Spreadsheets to Efficient Housing Delivery 

Working with spreadsheets, which showed all potential variables that impacted a scheme, the update and consolidation of these for each project was extremely time consuming. It would often take two or three weeks before knowing the outcome of the changes. In addition, with such a complex system there was also the risk of human error.

Homes are being built using a model that cross subsidies outright sales to fund affordable housing. The aim is to deliver 2,000 homes by 2022 with the scope of the overall project to build over 9000 homes. These will be high quality affordable homes for tenants and will help to shape the communities they are in.

SOLUTION

Housing Development Optimisation Through Cross-Department Integration

Initially, ProVal was implemented primarily for the regeneration team, who were tasked to look at the redevelopment of Hackney’s housing stock. Subsequently then, an infield programme of house building housing supply programme has been introduced. The use of ProVal has been shared with other departments, increasing overall employee skill and understanding of the development process at Hackney Borough Council. 

“We have expanded the number of departments who use ProVal as Strategic property services who manage the Hackney commercial and community portfolio work with the development team to do appraisals. These appraisals were often done by consultants who would have to re-appraise a scheme to identify the impact of change, this was costly and time consuming. Now the finance and regeneration team work together to run 8/9 different appraisal options to understand all the factors and their impacts.”

PROVAL & SEQUEL

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 “The huge strategic plans for delivery are a result of the information, knowledge and understanding of development that has been brought to the team via ProVal. If we were still using spreadsheets I’m not sure we would ever have that insight. We may still have delivered, but it would have been at an unknown cost, in the sense that we would never know how much better value we could have achieved. With ProVal we’ve continued to deliver with measurable value, we’re delivering 2,000 units by 2022, and that’s the measure of our success.” 

To gain board development approval, a gateway process is used throughout all the stages. ProVal is used to first complete a very simple appraisal to look at the finances, site capacity to work out what’s deliverable on the site and potential tenure mix options, property sizes, and other facilities for the community or commercial spaces within the development. If viable these are brought into the programme for approval which is the baseline financial position. 

This is then developed to a detailed design and planning permission is submitted. During the wait for planning permission approval, there are often more cost changes that are identified and monitored until it goes to tender. When the tenders come back they are compared and how well the scheme has moved through the design development is reviewed to consider finally cost to build from the contractor. 

All involved now have an understanding of the costs being approved, the risks and what other options were considered. This shared knowledge, financial understanding and performance across the team is giving the project managers and Regeneration Teams responsibility and ownership of finance. This is an evolution from a corporate control environment, where the Finance department sign off everything. This has enabled Hackney to measure spend against the appraisal being delivered to the objectives and accountability.

THE RESULTS

Key Benefits of ProVal and Sequel in Hackney's Housing Development

number 1

 Instant financial insights

With ProVal, Hackney Borough Council gained immediate visibility into the financial impacts of changes such as design, tenure, or sales values. This enables swift scenario modeling and better cost-risk management, improving decision-making for affordable housing schemes.

number 2

Agile decision-making

ProVal allows Hackney to adapt quickly to rising build costs and fluctuating sales values. By optimizing appraisals, the council achieves better value for money and meets housing goals in a changing economic environment.

number 3

Streamlined Budget Management with Sequel

Sequel simplifies project management during the build phase by replicating finance systems. It enables project managers to monitor budgets, manage spend, and streamline processes like contracting architects or consultants.

number 4

Comprehensive Record-Keeping

At the project’s conclusion, Sequel tracks property details, ownership, equity percentages, and rent. Its workflows enhance financial oversight, save time on reporting, and ensure long-term accountability.

number 5

Resource efficiency 

The integration of ProVal and Sequel has doubled Hackney’s project capacity without increasing staff. Empowered project managers now balance appraisals and design development, reducing resource intensity and ensuring robust financial control.

number 6

Intuitive software for team success

SDS products like ProVal stand out for their user-friendly design. Minimal setup time and intuitive features help Hackney’s teams build accurate appraisals efficiently, ensuring confidence in governance and project delivery.

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