- MRICS Chartered Surveyor
- 15 years’ experience
- Projects from £20k to £350m
- JCT & NEC contracts
- Midlands-based, working UK-wide
(01) — Who We Are
October Projects is a Construction Project Management and Cost Consultancy
Good projects don’t need more corporate machinery. They need good people.
Independent Construction ConsultancyWe provide Project & Programme Management, Cost Management, Development Management and Strategic Advisory services for developers, occupiers, asset owners, investors, contractors and public bodies — led by an experienced Chartered Surveyor, giving you big-firm expertise without the big-firm layers.
- Senior expertise. Personally delivered.
- Direct access to the director.
- Continuity from day one to handover.
- Lower overheads, better value.
- Modern tools, human judgement.
(02) — Capabilities
A complete consultancy, from feasibility to handover.
01Project & Programme Management
End-to-end leadership of design teams, contractors and stakeholders — driving programme, quality and governance from inception to completion.
02Cost & Commercial Management
Quantity surveying, estimating and procurement strategy that keeps budgets honest and contracts robust across the whole project lifecycle.
03Development Management
Acting as your in-house development team — managing feasibility, funding milestones, consultants and delivery to protect the investment case.
04Strategic Advisory
Clear, independent strategic advice that enables clients to navigate complexity with confidence — from early-stage feasibility through to programme recovery and commercial strategy.
Builder, contractor or architect?
Professional estimating and cost planning, from early design through to tender.
Meet the founder
Senior advice from the person you meet.
Ollie Thompson BSc (Hons) MRICS founded October Projects after 15 years delivering construction and infrastructure projects for public and private sector clients. He leads every commission personally — so you get senior, hands-on advice from first conversation to final account and beyond.
Meet the team“I didn’t create October Projects to put another impressive CV into the market. I created it to put that experience to work differently.”
(03) — Selected Work
Projects that set the standard.
Proven experience across eleven sectors, from £20k refurbishments to £350m schemes: residential, industrial, logistics & manufacturing, retail & roadside, commercial, healthcare, education, public & civic, infrastructure & aviation, hotels, hospitality & leisure, mixed use and fire remediation.
Sectors & experience
Experience across the sectors that matter.
Industrial & Logistics
Residential
Healthcare
Education
Infrastructure & Aviation
Commercial
Retail & Hospitality
Public & Civic
Mixed Use
Fire Remediation(04) — How We Work
Six principles behind every delivery.
Partners, not providers
We work as an extension of your team, invested in your success, not just our scope. Our commitment doesn’t end at final account. We’re here for the next project, and the one after that.
Senior, start to finish
The person who wins your project is the person who delivers it. One experienced lead owns the outcome from brief to handover, with no hand-offs to junior teams and no finger-pointing.
Straight talking
We tell you what you need to hear, not what’s comfortable. If something isn’t right, we raise it, deal with it and move forward, so there are never surprises.
Certainty first
We identify risks, costs and programme pressures early, so decisions are made with confidence, not discovered late at your expense.
Your objective, not our process
Every project exists for a reason: a return, a workplace, a public asset. We start with yours, and use structure where it makes the project better, never for process’s sake.
Quality protected
Commercial discipline should never erode design intent or whole-life performance. We protect both, so value is engineered in without losing quality.
Experience
Our team’s experience includes work for
Projects delivered by our team in previous roles.
- Local authorities
- NHS trusts
- Universities
- Academy trusts
- National housebuilders
- Housing associations
- Build-to-rent developers
- Later living operators
- Logistics developers
- Manufacturers
- Retail park owners
- Roadside & drive-through operators
- Commercial developers
- Hotel groups
- Leisure operators
- Airport operators
- Highways clients
- Utility providers
- Investors & funders
- Building owners
- Charities
- Contractors & architects
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does October Projects do?
October Projects is an independent construction consultancy. We provide project and programme management, cost and commercial management (quantity surveying), development management, strategic advisory, Employer’s Agent, contract administration and monitoring surveyor services for clients, developers, funders and contractors.
Where do you work?
We are based in the West Midlands and work across Birmingham, the West Midlands and the wider Midlands. We also take on projects elsewhere in the UK where the fit is right.
Who leads October Projects?
October Projects is led by Ollie Thompson MRICS, a chartered surveyor with 15 years’ experience on both the client and contractor side, including roles at Mace, Arcadis, Trinity Property Consultants, Rider Levett Bucknall and John Sisk & Son.
Which sectors do you work in?
Industrial, logistics and manufacturing; education; leisure and hospitality; commercial; residential; infrastructure; healthcare; mixed use; public and civic buildings; and fire remediation.
Do you work under JCT and NEC contracts?
Yes. We act as Employer’s Agent and contract administrator under JCT contracts, including JCT Design and Build with client amendments, and as NEC Project Manager under NEC contracts, including Options A and C.
When should I appoint you?
As early as possible, ideally at RIBA Stage 0 or 1, when the brief, budget and programme are set. We can also join a project at any stage, for example as Employer’s Agent at tender or as monitoring surveyor for a lender.
(05) — Start a Project
Your project,
in safe hands.
We don’t want to be the biggest consultancy in the room, just the one our clients want in it. Tell us about your plans, and we’ll bring senior advice, honest answers and certainty from day one.