NJL Consulting

What NJL Consulting does

NJL Consulting is a privately held, founder-led UK planning and development consultancy headquartered in Manchester. Founded in 2003 by Nick Lee, the firm provides strategic planning advice, planning application preparation, project management, and stakeholder engagement to enterprise clients across six core sectors: housing, retail, leisure, logistics and commercial, Green Belt, and urban regeneration. Its service offering spans the full development lifecycle from initial site identification and appraisal through to planning consent and the sale of consented sites, positioning NJL as a long-term advisor rather than a transactional application preparer.

The firm operates as a B22B professional services practice with a core team of approximately 10-15 staff including Directors, Senior Planners, Graduate Planners, and operations support. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, negotiated directly with clients on a per-engagement basis, with no public pricing. GTM is enterprise field sales driven by established relationships, referrals, industry events (PropSki, UKREiiF, National Planning Conference), and a content presence via a LinkedIn page and a Knowledge Bank blog. Geographic reach is concentrated in England and Wales, with activity reported in over 55 planning authorities, and a hybrid presence in Scotland via affiliation with Calton Planning and Development. The client base is exclusively enterprise, including major UK housebuilders and developers such as Peel L&P, Redrow, Miller Homes, Tritax, Bloor Homes, Vistry, Caddick, and Story, alongside housing associations and special-purpose clients.

Cumulative scale metrics include 25,000+ residential units worked on historically, 522 new homes permitted in 2023, 180+ projects instructed in 2023, 310,240 sqm of commercial floorspace secured in 2023, and a reported 80% appeal success rate on grey belt cases. The firm holds no patents, has no disclosed funding rounds, and remains under founder ownership with no private equity, venture capital, or institutional investment indicated. NJL is a relationship-driven, expertise-led boutique consultancy whose core technology is its planning talent and policy knowledge rather than software or platforms.

Name

NJL Consulting

Legal name

NJL Consulting

Website

https://njlconsulting.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NJL Consulting is a Manchester-based, founder-led UK planning and development consultancy advising major housebuilders, developers, and housing associations on planning applications and strategy across housing, retail, leisure, logistics, Green Belt, and regeneration sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Planning and Development Consultancy

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real Estate Strategy & Portfolio Consulting (Corporate/Institutional) (BPAJANAB)

Keywords

• Planning consultancy services
• Development advisory
• Planning permission strategy
• Urban regeneration consulting
• Real estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Planning and Development Consultancy Services: Professional consulting fees generated through project-based engagements for planning applications, strategic planning advice, project management, and advisory services across residential, commercial, retail, leisure, logistics, regeneration, and green belt sectors. Revenue comes from advising developers, housing associations, and property companies on securing planning permissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NJL Consulting is a planning and development consultancy that advises developers, housebuilders, housing associations, and property companies on securing planning permission and managing the planning process. Services include site appraisal, planning application preparation, project management, stakeholder engagement, and strategic advisory across residential, retail, leisure, logistics, Green Belt, and regeneration projects. Engagements are delivered as project-based consulting work for major development schemes across England and Wales.

Product overview

NJL Consulting is a planning and development consultancy firm offering strategic planning advisory services across multiple sectors. The firm provides a unified consultancy service that includes site appraisal, planning application preparation, project management, public consultation, and strategic advice. Service offerings span housing, retail, leisure, logistics/commercial, Green Belt, and regeneration sectors. The company acts as a trusted advisor invested in client success, providing end-to-end support from initial site identification through to planning consent and project delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning and Development Consultancy Core consultancy service providing strategic planning advice, planning application preparation, project management, and stakeholder engagement for developers and property companies across residential, commercial, and mixed-use development sectors.
• Housing Planning Services
• Retail Planning Services Planning services for retail, leisure, and mixed-use developments with a proven track record of securing planning permission for complex retail schemes.
• Green Belt Planning Services Specialist planning consultancy for complex Green Belt cases, including landmark projects across the UK involving release and development of Green Belt land.
• Leisure Planning Services Planning consultancy for leisure developments with extensive experience working with councils to find commercially viable solutions for constrained sites.
• Regeneration Planning Services Complex regeneration project planning working with leading developers on highly publicized regeneration projects to transform urban areas.
• Logistics and Commercial Planning Services Full-service planning consultancy taking clients from initial site identification and appraisal through planning applications to the eventual sale of consented sites for logistics and commercial developments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 25,000 residential units delivered across company history
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Life ShareminorOthers · 1 January 2023Partnering with Life Share as charity of the year. Life Share is a Manchester-based charity helping people affected by homelessness. NJL supports through fundraising events, collections, and volunteering throughout the year.
• Protect our Winters UK (POW UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Signed partnership deal in Summer 2022 with POW UK to help promote and deliver on net zero carbon targets. NJL committed to the POW Pledge targeting net zero through building, fuel and employee habit changes. Partnership extends NJL's sustainability commitment beyond client work to internal operations.
• RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding relationship with RTPI offering mentoring support for graduates undertaking their APC (Assessment of Professional Competence). Two members of NJL team have served on the Young Planners Committee over the last 18 months, responsible for organising events and initiatives across the North West.
• Calton Planning and DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect link with Calton Planning Consultants based in Scotland. NJL team member Emily Bates relocated to Edinburgh to take on a hybrid role working with Calton Planning and Development, extending NJL's reach into the Scottish market.
• Runshaw CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Runshaw College to support their T-level programme providing work experience to students. Hosted T-Level students for placement weeks as part of the 9-week placement throughout the academic year.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lambert Smith Hampton: Lambert Smith Hampton is a UK-wide property consultancy offering planning, development, valuation, and transactional services — broader than NJL but directly overlapping on planning permission work for housebuilders, commercial developers, and investors.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield is a global real estate services firm with UK development consulting capabilities — competes with NJL on planning and development advisory mandates for commercial, logistics, and mixed-use enterprise clients.
• Carter Jonas: Carter Jonas is a UK-wide property consultancy spanning planning, valuation, building consultancy, and rural services — broader than NJL but overlapping materially in development planning advisory for housebuilders, landowners, and institutional clients.
• WSP: WSP is a global engineering and professional services firm with a UK planning and development consultancy practice — competes with NJL for enterprise developer mandates, and has historically employed NJL's senior planners (e.g., Victoria Coleman joined from WSP).
• Bidwells: Bidwells is a UK property consultancy with planning, building consultancy, and rural development capabilities — competes in development planning for residential and commercial schemes, particularly across the North of England and Scotland.
• Knight Frank: Knight Frank is a global real estate consultancy with a UK planning and development advisory practice — competes for enterprise planning mandates across residential, logistics, and regeneration, with NJL staff having previously joined from Savills (Oliver Eves).
• Savills: Savills is a global real estate services firm offering planning consultancy within a much broader portfolio including valuation, investment, and capital markets — competes with NJL on UK development planning mandates, particularly for enterprise developers like those in NJL's client list.

Direct peers

• Lichfields: Lichfields is a UK planning, development, and economics consultancy serving residential, commercial, retail, and regeneration clients — closely aligned with NJL's sector breadth and housebuilder/developer customer segments.
• Turley: Turley is one of the UK's largest dedicated planning consultancies, offering town planning, regeneration, environmental, and development advisory services to housebuilders and developers across the UK — directly comparable to NJL's planning-led service model and enterprise client base.
• DLP Planning: DLP Planning is a UK planning and development consultancy providing planning application, strategic land, and EIA services to developers and housebuilders — a niche peer competing in the same planning permission services segment as NJL.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/njl-consulting
• Xx.com/NJLConsulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NJL Consulting