We started because the market was full of contractors who quote one thing and charge another.
Daniel Petrov spent eight years watching high-end refurb jobs done properly — then watched word-of-mouth tradespeople quote his friend's flat at a fraction of what the job needed, planning to skip the prep. Core Build Group was built to close that gap. Four years later: six in-house trades, 180+ properties on retainer, and the same measure of success — is the snag list empty at handover?
The four cheaper quotes all planned to skip the prep.
Daniel Petrov's friend got five quotes for his Holloway flat. Four came in well below Daniel's number. Every single one of them had planned to skip the preparation work — the surface-filling, the priming, the levelling. The lower price was the lower-cost shortcut.
That gap — between what a property actually needs and what the market routinely delivers — is exactly the gap Core Build Group was built to close. We charge a fair rate. We do the boring stuff properly. We leave behind work that holds up for a decade.
Today we're a team of 28, working out of a yard in Hatton Garden, covering London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and beyond. Most of our work comes from clients who used us once and called us back for the next property.
Three rules that decide how every job runs.
Not values on a poster. Actual operating principles — the ones every project manager is held to on every job.
The quote you sign is the quote you pay.
We don't win work with a low estimate and renegotiate once we're on site. We quote accurately after a real site visit. If something genuinely unexpected appears mid-job, we stop, show you, and agree separately before continuing. That's the only exception.
The boring prep is where the job is won or lost.
90% of what makes a renovation hold up long-term happens before the visible work begins. Surface prep. Subfloor levelling. Tanking. Acclimatisation. The easy profit is always in skipping these. We don't.
One team. One number. One bill.
You talk to one project manager from the first site visit to the final snag. They run the trades, they know the brief, they own the outcome. One invoice covering everything agreed in the quote — no spreadsheet of subcontractors to chase yourself.
The people who run your project.
Twenty-eight people across the trades, the office and the yard. Here are the leads you're most likely to speak to.
Daniel Petrov
Founder & Director
Sarah Bellamy
Operations Lead
Marek Wojcik
Head of Trades
Aisha Khan
Client ServicesWorked with contractors who let you down?
Tell us about your project. Free site visit. Fixed-price quote in three working days. One project manager from first visit to sign-off.
From a transit van in Holloway to 180+ properties on retainer.
Every step driven by the same problem: property owners who needed a contractor they could actually trust.
Started with one van and a strong opinion about preparation work
Daniel and a single apprentice took on their first flats, working out of a transit van. The brief was simple: do the prep properly, charge a fair price, and leave the place cleaner than you found it.
First portfolio client — twelve flats, one number
A family office in Marylebone brought us on as preferred contractor across twelve properties. They had tried four other contractors. They wanted one reliable number. We hired our first project manager.
Six trades in-house — no more subcontractor finger-pointing
We brought electrics, plumbing, tiling and joinery in-house. Every snag now has one owner. No more conversations about whose problem it is.
Building Management division — the single-number solution for landlords
Portfolio landlords kept asking for one point of contact across reactive and planned work. We built the team, the helpline and the compliance system to deliver it properly.
180+ properties on retainer — still measured by the snag list at handover
Core Build Group now manages reactive and planned maintenance across more than 180 homes. The measure we care about hasn't changed: is the snag list empty at handover?
Four years of premium renovation, in four numbers.
Ready to work with a contractor you can trust?
Free site survey. Fixed-price quote in three working days. One project manager who owns the outcome from first visit to final snag. No obligation, no pressure.