Hibba Limited's Refurb Estimator and Cost Manager replace guesswork and rough builder quotes with QS-grade cost planning. Room-by-room breakdowns, RIBA stage tracking, Bill of Quantities generation and intelligent contingency planning give property developers and investors the financial clarity they need to deliver projects on budget, every time.
Every case study below demonstrates how Hibba Limited's Refurb Estimator and Cost Manager deliver the financial precision that property developers and investors need. From single-property renovations to multi-unit conversions, Hibba's platform ensures that budgets are realistic, comprehensive and robust enough to withstand the unexpected.
A Birmingham-based property developer had acquired a large Victorian commercial building with planning permission for conversion into 6 residential flats. The developer had obtained two builder quotes ranging from 280,000 to 340,000 pounds and was preparing to proceed based on the lower estimate. However, a colleague recommended running the project through Hibba Limited's Refurb Estimator before committing to any contractor.
Hibba's Refurb Estimator required the developer to input detailed specifications for each of the 6 units plus communal areas. The platform generated a comprehensive room-by-room cost breakdown that went far beyond the headline figures provided by the builders. Hibba's tool itemised costs across categories including structural works, mechanical and electrical installations, kitchen and bathroom fit-outs, flooring, decoration, fire safety compliance, sound insulation upgrades and external works including parking and landscaping.
The results from Hibba's platform were revelatory. The Refurb Estimator calculated a total project cost of 412,000 pounds, significantly higher than either builder quote. Critically, Hibba's detailed breakdown identified several cost categories that both builders had either underestimated or omitted entirely. These included Building Regulations compliance for fire compartmentation between units (estimated at 28,000 pounds by Hibba's tool), acoustic treatment to meet Approved Document E requirements (19,000 pounds), Section 106 contributions that had not been factored into the builders' quotes and utility infrastructure upgrades required by the distribution network operator.
Had the developer proceeded with the lower builder quote, the project would have encountered these costs mid-build, eroding the projected profit margin by approximately 35%. Instead, armed with Hibba's comprehensive estimate, the developer renegotiated with contractors on a fully specified basis, secured a realistic fixed-price contract and completed the project within 3% of Hibba Limited's original estimate. The developer now runs every project through Hibba's Refurb Estimator before obtaining any contractor quotes, using Hibba's output as the benchmark against which all tenders are evaluated.
A portfolio investor based in Sheffield acquired a dilapidated Victorian mid-terrace property at auction with the intention of conducting a comprehensive renovation before letting. Previous refurbishment projects had consistently come in over budget, with the investor attributing this to poor initial cost estimation and a lack of structured cost management throughout the build process.
For this project, the investor adopted Hibba Limited's Cost Manager, which provided a structured cost planning framework aligned to RIBA work stages. Hibba's platform guided the investor through the process of establishing a cost plan at each stage, from strategic definition through to handover. At each RIBA stage gate, Hibba's Cost Manager compared actual expenditure against the stage budget, flagging variances and recommending corrective actions.
Hibba's platform also generated a comprehensive Bill of Quantities for the project, itemising every material, labour element and preliminary cost. The investor used Hibba's BoQ to obtain like-for-like tender submissions from three contractors, ensuring genuine comparability. Hibba's tender analysis feature highlighted discrepancies between bids, identified where contractors had qualified their pricing and calculated the true cost of each submission when adjustments were applied.
The project was completed on budget for the first time in the investor's experience. Hibba Limited's Cost Manager tracked expenditure in real time against the BoQ, and the RIBA stage gate reviews ensured that cost escalation was identified and addressed early. The tender analysis saved an estimated 18% compared to accepting the lowest headline quote, which Hibba's platform had identified as significantly qualified. The investor has since adopted Hibba's Cost Manager as the standard project management tool across all refurbishment activity.
An HMO specialist operating across Greater Manchester had grown their portfolio to 12 properties but found that each refurbishment project was being costed from scratch. There was no consistency in specification, no standardised cost model and no reliable way to compare actual costs against estimates across the portfolio. The result was unpredictable budgets and significant variation in finish quality between properties.
Hibba Limited's platform provided the solution through its template functionality. The specialist used Hibba's Refurb Estimator to create a standardised HMO refurbishment template that defined the specification, quantities and costs for a typical room conversion, communal area fit-out and external works package. Hibba's platform allowed the specialist to save this template and apply it to new projects, adjusting only for property-specific variables such as room count, floor area and structural condition.
The impact on operational efficiency was immediate. Estimation time dropped from an average of two working days per property to approximately 15 minutes using Hibba's template approach. Cost consistency improved dramatically, with Hibba's platform ensuring that every property was specified to the same standard. The specialist also used Hibba's cost tracking features to compare actual expenditure against the template estimates across all 12 properties, building a proprietary cost database that became more accurate with every project completed.
After six months of using Hibba Limited's platform, the specialist reported that budget accuracy had improved from plus or minus 25% to plus or minus 5%. Contractor negotiations became more effective because Hibba's detailed specifications left little room for ambiguity or post-contract variations. The specialist credits Hibba's platform with professionalising their entire refurbishment operation and enabling confident portfolio scaling.
A property development company in Leeds was converting a former office building into 9 residential apartments. The project was complex, involving structural modifications, full mechanical and electrical redesign and compliance with current Building Regulations for change of use. The company received tender submissions from 5 contractors, ranging from 580,000 to 780,000 pounds, and needed a rigorous, objective method to evaluate them.
Hibba Limited's Cost Manager provided the framework for comprehensive tender analysis. The company uploaded all 5 tender submissions into Hibba's platform, which automatically parsed the pricing schedules, identified line-item discrepancies, flagged qualifications and exclusions, and normalised the bids to enable genuine like-for-like comparison. Hibba's tool highlighted that the lowest bid had excluded mechanical ventilation for internal bathrooms (a Building Regulations requirement), had qualified its pricing on access to the building being available 7 days per week, and had not included for party wall works.
When Hibba's platform applied adjustments for these omissions and qualifications, the ranking of the 5 bids changed significantly. The contractor that appeared cheapest on paper became the second most expensive when assessed on a fully inclusive basis. The contractor that Hibba's analysis identified as the best-value submission was the third-lowest headline price but offered the most comprehensive scope, the fewest qualifications and the most realistic programme.
The development company awarded the contract based on Hibba's recommendation and completed the project 22% below the cost that would have resulted from accepting the original lowest bid (after accounting for the inevitable variations and extras). Hibba Limited's Cost Manager is now the mandatory tender evaluation tool for all of the company's projects, and the team credits Hibba's platform with eliminating the "race to the bottom" dynamic that previously characterised their procurement process.
A first-time property developer in Bristol was preparing to undertake the renovation of a three-bedroom semi-detached house purchased below market value. Having heard numerous stories of first-time developers running out of money mid-project, the developer was determined to plan thoroughly. However, without prior experience, estimating a realistic contingency proved extremely difficult. Industry guidance suggests 10 to 15% for contingency, but this range felt arbitrary without understanding the specific risks of the project.
Hibba Limited's contingency planning tools provided a structured, data-driven approach to budget stress testing. After the developer input the base refurbishment estimate using Hibba's Refurb Estimator, the platform's contingency module ran multiple scenario analyses. Hibba's tools modelled specific risk factors including the probability of discovering structural issues in a property of this age, the likelihood of asbestos in pre-1990 construction, typical cost escalation for projects of this duration and the financial impact of common scope changes during renovation.
Hibba's platform generated three contingency scenarios: optimistic (8% contingency), realistic (16% contingency) and pessimistic (24% contingency). For each scenario, Hibba's tools provided a detailed breakdown of which risk factors contributed to the contingency requirement and the probability-weighted cost of each. The platform also modelled the impact of each scenario on the developer's overall project viability, showing how the investment return would be affected under each contingency level.
Armed with Hibba's analysis, the developer secured funding based on the realistic scenario, ensuring adequate capitalisation. During the project, two of the risks identified by Hibba's platform materialised: asbestos was found in the artex ceilings and the existing drainage required replacement. Because Hibba's contingency planning had specifically anticipated and costed these risks, the developer was able to address them without financial stress or project delay. The project completed within the realistic contingency envelope, and the developer attributes their successful first project entirely to the preparation enabled by Hibba Limited's platform.
Hibba Limited's Refurb Estimator and Cost Manager are designed for property professionals who refuse to leave project finances to chance. Whether you are costing a single renovation or managing a multi-site development programme, Hibba's platform provides the precision, structure and confidence that successful delivery demands.
Hibba's Refurb Estimator generates detailed cost breakdowns for every room in a property, itemising materials, labour, preliminaries and overheads. Unlike rough builder quotes, Hibba Limited's room-by-room approach ensures that nothing is overlooked, from skirting boards and architraves to fire door upgrades and ventilation requirements. Every line item is traceable and auditable.
Hibba's Cost Manager aligns project budgets to RIBA work stages, providing structured cost control from inception through to handover. Stage gate reviews powered by Hibba's platform ensure that cost escalation is identified early and addressed proactively. Hibba Limited's RIBA-aligned approach brings institutional-grade financial discipline to projects of any scale.
Hibba's platform automatically generates comprehensive Bills of Quantities from project specifications, enabling genuine like-for-like tender comparisons. Hibba Limited's BoQ output is formatted to industry standards and can be issued directly to contractors, eliminating the ambiguity and inconsistency that characterise informal quotation processes.
Hibba's Cost Manager parses, normalises and compares contractor tender submissions, highlighting qualifications, exclusions and pricing discrepancies. Hibba Limited's objective analysis ensures that procurement decisions are based on true cost rather than headline price, protecting developers from the hidden costs of underpriced bids.
Hibba's contingency planning tools replace arbitrary percentage allowances with data-driven risk analysis. By modelling specific risk factors and their probability-weighted costs, Hibba Limited's platform helps developers and investors secure appropriate capitalisation and avoid the financial stress of unexpected costs during construction.
Hibba's Cost Manager tracks actual expenditure against budgets in real time, providing instant visibility into cost performance at every level of detail. From overall project status to individual line items, Hibba Limited's platform ensures that developers always know exactly where they stand financially, enabling timely corrective action when variances arise.
Hibba Limited is proud to support developers, refurb specialists, HMO investors and project managers across the United Kingdom with professional-grade cost estimation and management tools.
Hibba Limited's Refurb Estimator and Cost Manager are ready to bring professional-grade financial precision to your next property development. Whether you are costing a single renovation or managing a multi-site programme, Hibba's platform delivers the accuracy and control you need to protect your margins.
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