NLM reports 51% turnover rise and expands services

NLM Building Consultancy has reported a 51% rise in turnover after a record year and launched a dedicated cost consultancy service as it broadens its UK property advisory work.

The business, founded in 2020, operates from Glasgow, Edinburgh and London and provides building surveying, project management and related services across commercial and residential property.

Co-founder Neil MacDougall has been appointed managing director and will continue to work alongside co-founder and director Lesley Merritt. The company has also expanded its senior team as the new cost consultancy operation begins trading.

Cost consultants support budgeting, procurement, tender analysis and financial control across construction projects. Adding the discipline allows NLM to become involved earlier in a development and remain engaged across a wider portion of the project lifecycle.

Property clients frequently appoint several advisers across the same scheme. Bringing surveying, project management and cost advice under one consultancy can reduce the number of external relationships a client needs to manage, provided the business maintains sufficient specialist expertise within each discipline.

NLM has developed a UK-wide portfolio from its three offices and has also been approved as a provider under Scotland’s Single Building Assessment legislation, which forms part of the response to unsafe cladding and wider building safety concerns.

Regulatory work creates a different demand profile from conventional development activity. Building owners and public bodies increasingly require evidence about existing assets, remediation requirements and compliance alongside advice on new construction and refurbishment.

The 51% turnover increase shows the pace of NLM’s recent growth, although the company has not disclosed an absolute revenue figure alongside the percentage. That makes direct scale comparisons with larger competitors difficult.

Rapid expansion also places pressure on professional services businesses to strengthen management structures. Additional disciplines require senior staff capable of winning work, overseeing technical quality and maintaining consistent delivery across multiple offices.

MacDougall’s move into the managing director role formalises that structure as NLM becomes larger and more diversified. Merritt remains a director, preserving continuity within the founding leadership team.

The new cost consultancy operation gives NLM another route to win work from existing and prospective clients. Its contribution will become clearer as the company reports whether service expansion produces additional revenue across projects rather than simply moving work that would previously have been referred to other advisers.