Living Heritage

What Living Heritage does

Living Heritage is the construction contracting arm of the Gr8Space group, a family-owned UK firm founded in the 1980s by Chris and Anne Liddell and now led in its second generation by Managing Director Nick Liddell. The business specializes in the conversion, restoration and redevelopment of listed and heritage buildings, primarily for residential and later-living use, with two divisions: Living Heritage (third-party contracting) and Gr8Space Developments (owned property development). Across its portfolio the group has delivered more than 1,000 homes, with roughly 800 units completed through the construction arm and 250+ through the development arm.

The company operates a B2B project-based contracting model, tendering for and delivering complex urban regeneration schemes typically valued at £5M–£25M, with marquee projects such as Great Western Yard exceeding £35M. Its named client base is concentrated among specialist residential and later-living developers including Lifestory, Eutopia Homes and PegasusLife, and its delivery footprint now spans Worcester, Bristol, Bath, Winchester, Exeter, Gloucester and Lichfield. Underlying delivery relies on heritage construction craft, conservation planning expertise and multi-generational family know-how rather than proprietary technology; senior leadership has been strengthened by the 2019 appointment of Tom Deakin as Construction Director from Kier.

Revenue mechanics are driven by construction contract values and development margin on owned schemes. With 11–50 employees and a multi-decade track record of multi-award-winning heritage work, the firm occupies a narrow specialist niche in which few contractors can credibly bid for listed-building conversions at this scale. The combination of family ownership, repeat institutional clients and a growing pipeline of high-value projects positions the group as a consolidator within its segment rather than a volume generalist.

Name

Living Heritage

Legal name

Gr8Space Ltd

Website

https://gr8space.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Living Heritage is a UK family-owned specialist contractor and heritage property developer converting listed buildings into residential and later-living schemes for clients such as Lifestory, Eutopia Homes and PegasusLife across multiple English regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Services

NAICS

Residential Building Construction (2361), New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520), Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Home Renovation & Preservation (HSAPAEAG), Senior Living & Assisted Living Facility Construction (IMAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Heritage building construction
• Listed building restoration
• Residential construction services
• Property development contracting
• Retirement living construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Worcester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Construction Contracting: Living Heritage serves as the main contracting company delivering construction projects for external clients and the company's own development arm. Contract values range from £5 million to £25 million per project.
2. Property Development: Gr8Space Developments specialises in restoring and converting listed buildings into residential units. Generates revenue through property sales upon completion of schemes ranging from 5 to 132 units.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Living Heritage is the construction contracting arm of the Gr8Space Group, delivering construction services for residential and historic building projects. The company carries out construction for external enterprise clients, including design-led retirement property developers and urban regeneration specialists, as well as for the group's own development company, Gr8Space Developments. Projects typically involve listed building conversion, heritage restoration, and high-specification residential construction with contract values ranging from £5 million to over £35 million.

Product overview

Living Heritage operates as a construction and development company under two core divisions: Living Heritage (construction company) and Gr8Space (development company). Together they form the Gr8Space Group, a multi award-winning specialist developer of Listed Building projects. The company specializes in converting complex and historic buildings, restoring character, charm and value to neglected sites. Gr8Space Developments handles restoration and development of historic Listed Buildings, having completed over 250 units in schemes ranging from 7 to 132 units. Living Heritage serves as the contracting arm, completing over 800 residential units with contract values between £5 million and £25 million. The group has built a collective portfolio of over 1000 homes over 40 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Living Heritage Construction Contracting Construction contracting services for residential and historic building projects, delivered for external enterprise clients and for the group's own development arm. Covers listed building conversion, heritage restoration, retirement living construction, and urban regeneration projects with contract values typically between £5 million and over £35 million.
• Gr8Space Developments Specialist property development focused on restoring and converting historic and listed buildings into individual and distinctive residential homes, later living apartments, and townhouses. Schemes range from 7 to 132 units, with over 250 units completed.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800+ residential units completed with contract values between £5 million and £25 million
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PegasusLifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign-led retirement property developer and part of the LifeStory group. Nick Liddell forged new client links with PegasusLife while continuing listed building developments. Partner for retirement living construction projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• R G Carter: Family-founded UK contractor operating across residential, heritage and commercial sectors; comparable in size, regional orientation and willingness to take on listed-building and complex renovation work.
• Audley Group: Luxury retirement village developer and operator with new-build and heritage-conversion schemes in southern England, overlapping Living Heritage's retirement and listed-building development activity.
• Catesby Estates: UK land promotion and residential development group with a comparable focus on unlocking complex, often heritage-constrained, sites for residential conversion — directly relevant to Gr8Space Developments.
• Speller Metcalfe: Worcester-headquartered UK construction firm with comparable regional footprint and specialism in heritage, conservation and complex residential projects, directly mirroring Living Heritage's integrated developer-contractor profile.
• PegasusLife: Design-led retirement developer within the LifeStory group and a named enterprise client of Living Heritage; highly comparable in retirement scheme design, scale and customer profile.
• McCarthy & Stone (now part of HomeBuy): UK's leading retirement living developer; Living Heritage is an active construction partner to retirement specialists in the same space, making it a directly comparable demand driver for retirement construction services.

Broad incumbents

• Willmott Dixon: Large UK contractor with active residential, retirement and heritage restoration practices; competes for similar enterprise retirement developers but at materially greater scale.
• Morgan Sindall Group: Major UK contractor and developer with a residential and regeneration portfolio that overlaps Living Heritage's construction and brownfield regeneration activities at significantly larger scale.
• Kier Group: National UK construction group active in residential, later-living and public-sector heritage projects; former employer of Construction Director Tom Deakin and a broader competitor for large retirement schemes.

Regional players

• Keepmoat Homes: UK-focused new-build residential developer concentrating on northern and Midlands regions, comparable to the Gr8Space Developments arm in volume housebuilding but serving a different geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livingheritage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 Living Heritage