Croft & Gable Homes — Thoughtful land & property development in Hertfordshire

For landowners

If your land has potential, the hard part is on us.

Working with us costs you nothing and risks nothing. We do all the legwork (the research, the planning, the professional fees) entirely at our own expense, and nothing leaves your hands unless a sale is agreed and completes. The worst case for you is that nothing changes; the best case is that, together, we unlock real value in your land.

Two ways we can work together

	Option 1An option agreement	Option 2An outright sale
The process	Longer, because we secure planning permission first (typically 12 to 24 months).	Shorter and simpler. A clean, straightforward sale.
What you receive	A price reflecting the land's development value, typically well above what it's worth today.	Today's market value, paid sooner.
Cost & risk to you	None. We fund the entire planning process at our own expense.	None. No agents' fees, no chain.
Might suit you if	You want the land's full potential and are happy to wait for it.	You'd rather have certainty now.

Option 1An option agreement

Option 2An outright sale

The process

Longer: we secure planning first (typically 12 to 24 months).

Short and straightforward.

What you receive

Development value, typically well above today's.

Today's market value, paid sooner.

Cost & risk to you

None. We fund everything.

None. No fees, no chain.

Might suit you if

You want full value and can wait for it.

You want certainty now.

Every piece of land is evaluated first for its development potential. Not all land will be suitable, and we'll tell you honestly either way.

Whichever route suits you, the terms are set out clearly and agreed up front, with your own independent legal advice before anything is signed, a considered decision, taken in your own time.

What it means for you

The best outcome here is yours.

A good scheme is the means, not the point. The point is what it does for you, turning land that may have sat quietly for years into something that genuinely works for your plans, your family, and your future.

Keep what matters

Release only what makes sense

Whether it's a corner of your garden, a single paddock or a field of several acres, you only release what makes sense for you, without disturbing what already works.

Real value

The worth it could have, not the worth it has today

A quick sale to a passing buyer prices land as it stands. Working with us, the price reflects the value that planning can unlock, usually far more than an off-the-cuff offer for the field as it is.

A dormant asset, working

Land that earns instead of sits

A large garden, a side plot, or ground that costs more in upkeep than it returns can hold far more value than its current use suggests. For some that means a more comfortable retirement; for others, helping family onto the ladder. Either way, the value is already there, waiting to be realised.

Built around you

Terms that fit your life

Cash now through a purchase, or a higher price later through an option, agreed up front to reflect the land's potential, and shaped around what suits you: your timing, your plans, and whatever else matters to your situation. You tell us what a good outcome looks like.

None of the risk

We carry the cost and the legwork

The research, the planning, the professional fees, the long wait: all of it sits with us, at our expense. The cost and the risk stay firmly on our side, never yours.

On your terms

Private, unhurried, and never pushy

No boards, no mass marketing, no mailshots to the whole street. Just a quiet, considered conversation, handled with discretion and at your pace.

Private · Selective · Family‑led

A selective approach to off‑market land.

We partner with a small number of landowners each year to explore off‑market opportunities, with care, discretion, and an eye on the long term. Keeping our numbers deliberately low is the only way to give each site the attention it deserves, handled patiently and properly from first letter to finished home.

If you’ve received a letter from us, it’s because we’ve looked at your land specifically and think there may be a thoughtful opportunity worth a conversation, no more than that, and no obligation to take it any further.

Discuss your land How our process works

Current capacity

We work closely with up to five landowners at a time.

No obligation A first conversation commits you to nothing.

Right now we’re working with three. If the timing’s right we can talk now; if it isn’t, we’re glad to pencil something in for later. It’s a big decision, no rush, and we’ll be here for it.

What working with us means

A considered approach

We research each site carefully before we ever get in touch.

Clear, agreed terms

Everything's set out and agreed before any work begins.

Patient, not rushed

One site at a time, from first letter to finished home.

Backed by proper advice

Terms supported by independent legal and planning input.

Our approach

A clear, considered process from first letter to finished home.

Selling or partnering on land can feel daunting. Our job is to make it straightforward, honest, and worth your while, with no jargon and no surprises.

01
Sourcing & initial checks
Before we ever get in touch, we've already done our homework: researching the site against local policy, constraints and real potential. If a letter reaches you, it's because that early work suggested your land could be worth a conversation.
02
An honest conversation
We meet on your terms and explain plainly what we've seen and why we got in touch. It's a chance to ask anything, take your time, and decide whether you'd like to explore it further.
03
Detailed feasibility
If there's interest on both sides, we invest our own time and money in planning consultants, architects and engineers to shape the strongest scheme and confirm it genuinely stacks up. Not every site does, and we'd rather tell you straight than press on regardless.
04
Terms agreed openly
When the work is positive, we agree terms, usually an option agreement, and put them to you and your solicitor. The price is settled up front and set to reflect the land's full potential, so you can weigh it up with proper advice before deciding.
05
The planning process
We fund and run the planning application ourselves, managing the consultants, the submission, and the work to win permission. The land stays in your hands throughout, while we carry the time, cost and risk.
06
Build & delivery
Once permission's in place, we see the scheme through to finished homes, working with trusted contractors and delivery partners on homes designed for the place, built to last, and good for the community.

Selected work

Projects we've worked on.

From restoring our own home to working alongside family on local schemes, here's a sense of the hands-on experience behind Croft & Gable.

Extension · Chesham

Brick & block

Facing brickwork and an insulated cavity wall built up from the foundations.

Development · involved in

Site groundworks

A residential development we've been involved in from the ground up.

A house undergoing a major rear extension

Our own home · Hertfordshire

Green Lane · the extension

The major extension to our own cottage, reworking the layout and moving the bathroom upstairs.

Our own home · the restoration

Green Lane · our home

An 1860s cottage we've restored and extended ourselves.

New build · involved in

Floor structure in

Steel and timber floor joists spanning a new room, open to a rural outlook.

Roof · worked on

A new roof

A freshly cut timber roof structure going up over an existing property.

Renovation · Chorleywood

Upper level underway

A key stage in the build, as work on the upper level began to progress.

Structural · worked on

Steel & timber

Steel beams and timber joists forming the structure over a lower-ground level.

More of our own projects coming soon as the business grows.

Our focus

Concentrated where our knowledge runs deepest.

We don't chase land across the whole country. We work across four districts in south-west Hertfordshire, where we understand the local plans, the planning landscape, and what makes a good site genuinely good.

Dacorum
Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Bovingdon, Tring and the surrounding villages.
Three Rivers
Rickmansworth, Croxley Green, Chorleywood and nearby parishes.
Watford
The borough and its established residential edges.
Hertsmere
Bushey, Radlett and the communities around them.

The team behind every site

Unlocking land takes a team. We've spent years building ours.

Getting a site through planning isn't a one-person job. It takes the right specialists and the right local relationships. We've built that trusted team across these districts, and it's what turns an opportunity into a result.

Planning consultants

Shaping each scheme to give it the strongest possible case at planning.

Architects

Designing homes that suit the place and earn local support.

Structural & civil engineers

Making sure what we propose can actually be built, properly.

Solicitors

Making sure the agreement is clear, fair and properly documented for both sides.

Surveyors & valuers

Reading the land, the constraints, and what it's genuinely worth.

Local agents & contacts

Relationships across these districts, built up over many years.

You don't need to find these people or learn the process yourself. That's exactly what we're here for. Each side instructs its own solicitor, and we cover the reasonable costs of yours, so the agreement is clear, properly documented, and protects everyone involved.

Our story

Built on experience, patience, and a love of doing things properly.

Brickwork and new roof structure on one of our own builds

Croft & Gable was founded on a simple belief: that property can be done with more care and integrity than it often is.

Property has been part of our background for years, through renovation, planning, and the long, unglamorous work that good development actually takes. That experience taught us that the best outcomes come from genuine relationships and sound judgement, not pressure or volume.

Today we focus on finding overlooked sites, working closely with the people who own them, and creating homes that add something real to the places they sit in. We're deliberately small, and we intend to stay that way.

How we got here

Where it began

A life around property

Aimee grew up around development. Her father ran his own estate agency and carried out his own projects, so buying, planning and building were part of everyday life from a young age. It gave her an eye for a good opportunity, and a love of the work, long before any of this had a name.

The two of us

Green Lane

After meeting, we bought an 1860s character cottage together and restored it by hand, reworking the layout, moving the bathroom upstairs, and bringing a tired but beautiful building back to life. It taught us first-hand what care and patience really mean in property.

Stepping up

Croxley Green

A single-storey extension to a bungalow in Croxley Green, more structure, more planning, more moving parts, and another chance to do things properly rather than quickly.

Going further

A Chesham extension

Working alongside family, we took on a larger extension and refurbishment in Chesham, more groundwork, steelwork and structure, and a real step up in what we were managing from start to finish.

Building the foundations

The right people around us

Along the way we built lasting relationships with experienced planning consultants, architects, engineers and solicitors, and came to know local planning policy in real depth, the groundwork that makes everything else possible.

Today

Sourcing with intent

We now actively research off-market sites across Dacorum, Three Rivers, Watford and Hertsmere, assessing each for genuine, deliverable potential, and bringing forward small, thoughtful schemes designed for their setting and built to last.

The team

A close team, with trusted experts alongside us.

Two dogs on one of our sites — Site visits tend to be a family affair, four legs included.

Co-founder · Development & site finding

Mike

Leads site sourcing, assessment, and the technical side of each project. Brings a methodical, detail-led approach to finding land with genuine potential.

Co-founder · Relationships & design

Aimee

Heads client relationships, brand, and the human side of every deal, making sure landowners feel heard, informed, and looked after from start to finish.

We work hand-in-hand with experienced planning consultants, solicitors, architects, and structural engineers, so every site is handled with the right expertise at every stage.

Common questions

The things landowners usually ask us.

Will I be paid what my land is really worth?+

That's the whole point of working this way. With an option, the price is agreed up front and set to reflect the land's full potential, not just its use today, so you capture value you simply couldn't unlock on your own. We'll always encourage independent advice and set the terms out transparently, and our reputation depends on people feeling genuinely well looked after.

What is an option agreement?+

It's an agreement that gives us the exclusive right to pursue planning permission on your land and, if it succeeds, to buy it at a price agreed up front, one set to reflect its potential, so typically well above its value today. Crucially, nothing changes hands while that's happening: the land stays in your hands, and ownership only passes if planning succeeds and the purchase completes. We take on all the time, cost and risk of seeking permission, and if it doesn't come through the agreement simply lapses. We'll explain all of it in plain English, and you'd review it with your own solicitor, whose reasonable costs we'll cover, before anything is signed.

Do I need a solicitor?+

Yes: your own, separate from ours. A solicitor protects each side: we instruct ours to put the agreement in place, and you instruct yours solely to look after your interests. Theirs is there purely for you: to check our documentation, make sure everything is as you'd expect, and confirm you're comfortable before anything is signed. We put these agreements together regularly, so the process is well-trodden and straightforward, but having your own solicitor review it is still important, and it's simply the right way to do things. You won't be out of pocket for it either: we cover your reasonable legal costs for putting the agreement in place, so getting proper advice never becomes a reason to hold back.

How long does the process take?+

It varies. A straightforward sale can be quick; a site requiring planning can take many months. We'll be honest about realistic timescales for your situation from the outset.

Why have you contacted me specifically?+

We research land carefully in the areas we know well. If we've written to you, it's because we believe your land may have genuine potential, not as part of a mass mailout. We're happy to explain exactly what caught our eye.

If I'm interested, does that mean it'll go ahead?+

Not automatically, and that's deliberate. Being contacted means your land made our shortlist, but before we'd propose any terms we carry out detailed checks at our own cost: planning consultants, architects, a proper feasibility view. Some sites pass, some don't. Only if it genuinely stacks up for both of us would we put an agreement to you and your solicitor.

Am I committed after the first conversation?+

No. Talking to us commits you to nothing: you're free to ask questions, think it over, or decide it's not for you at any point before an agreement is signed. A commitment only begins once you and your solicitor are happy and you sign an option agreement; from that point both sides are bound by its terms for the period it covers. We'll always make sure you understand exactly what you're agreeing to before you get there.

Do I have to sell all of my land?+

Not necessarily. Sometimes it's the whole holding, sometimes just part of it, perhaps a paddock, a corner, or land beyond your garden, while you keep the rest. We'll be clear about which part we see potential in, and the right approach is something we'd agree with you openly before anything is signed.

What if planning isn't possible?+

Then nothing changes hands and you've lost nothing. Under an option agreement we carry the cost and risk of seeking planning, so if it can't be achieved the agreement simply lapses and everything stays exactly as it was before. You're never left out of pocket for work that didn't come off.

Get in touch

Own land that deserves a thoughtful approach?

We'd love to hear from you, no obligation, no pressure. A short conversation is often the best place to start.

Prefer to talk? Book a 15‑minute call.

Pick a time that suits you and we’ll call you then, no forms, no back‑and‑forth.

Book a 15‑minute call

Or email us directly, any time, at

[email protected]

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We'll only ever use your details to reply to you. No newsletters, no lists, and we'll never pass your details on. How we handle your information.

Why we wrote to you.

Relationships first

Thoughtful, not large-scale

The long view