Considered developments

About us

Square Perch Developments specialises in the conversion of underused commercial and light industrial buildings into high-quality residential homes, primarily across the South of England.

Based in Oxford, we focus on carefully selected projects of between 4–20 units, using disciplined, de-risked development strategies to deliver well-designed homes through the thoughtful reuse of existing buildings.

The business was founded on the principle that sustainable development is best achieved through intelligent regeneration of what's already present, rather than expansion into greenfield land.

After decades spent building and running operationally complex businesses alongside hands-on property investing, the decision to focus Square Perch on reuse and regeneration was a deliberate one. We set out to create a platform capable of delivering well-considered projects with care and discipline.

We bring together an experienced professional team covering planning, design, delivery, and finance: people who understand the creative, technical, and commercial realities of development.

• Integrity - we do what we say we will do, and expect others to do the same

• Pragmatism - we favour clear, achievable outcomes over complexity

• Prudent use of resources - both buildings and materials are treated with respect

• Creativity - finding value where others might not

• Experience-led judgement - decisions are informed by decades of operating, investing, and delivering at scale

“I’ve always been drawn to the challenge of making something useful from what already exists. Reusing buildings is, for me, the ultimate recycling: commercially sensible, environmentally responsible, and far more interesting than starting from scratch.”
- Russell Hopcraft

Our Story

Our Values

Our work is guided by a small set of practical values:

A perch, also known as a rod or pole, is a unit of length used for measuring land. Its length (16.5 feet, or 5.0292 meters, to be precise) was standardised by Edmund Gunter in 1607 (who studied at Christ Church College, Oxford).

A square perch, therefore, is a unit of area, and a key part of the old system of land division of rods, roods, and acres. 4 perches make one chain (22 yards, or 'Gunter's Chain') and 160 square perches equal one acre.

To this day, houses in Sri Lanka are still listed with the floor area described in perches. So a house might be described as a '10 perch house'. So a 'square perch' is used in a similar way to a square foot, mile, or metre.

Why "Square Perch"?

An example of a Gunter's Chain

Founder’s Perspective