Building Understanding

What Building Understanding does

Building Understanding is a London-based, privately held specialist research agency founded in 2015 by Sarah Mather that delivers bespoke client perception, customer satisfaction, and post-occupancy evaluation research exclusively to the UK property, construction, and related professional services sectors. Its core offerings comprise five research service lines — client perception research, project reviews, post-occupation audits, lost enquirer studies, and customer/occupier satisfaction research — delivered through flexible methodologies spanning face-to-face depth interviews, telephone interviews, focus groups, online questionnaires, and proprietary mechanics such as iPad-based site interviews and card sorting exercises. The firm distinguishes itself through domain specialization (more than ten years of continuous built-environment research experience), MRS Company Partner accreditation, and membership in the BUS Methodology Partner Network, which enables post-occupancy evaluation outputs that contribute toward BREEAM, LEED, WELL, NABERS, and Soft Landings certifications.

The business operates as a professional services firm on a project-based, quote-driven pricing model with no publicly disclosed rates, supplemented by a proprietary Client Portal that gives enterprise clients real-time access to interrogate, search, and graphically report on their data. Its go-to-market is consultative direct sales targeting developers, property owners and managers, construction contractors, and adjacent professional service firms (planning, property, surveying, and sustainability consultancies). The firm is founder-owned, has no external institutional investors or disclosed funding, and runs a lean multidisciplinary team of approximately thirteen people drawn from sectors as varied as Big Four accounting, television, manufacturing, hospitality, public health, and blue-chip program management. Geographic scope is single-country (United Kingdom), with operational concentration in London/Southeast England, and there is no evidence of international expansion, technology platform licensing, or AI-driven automation in the current operating model.

Name

Building Understanding

Legal name

Building Understanding Ltd.

Website

https://buildingunderstanding.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Building Understanding is a London-based specialist research agency founded in 2015 that delivers bespoke client perception, customer satisfaction, and post-occupancy evaluation research exclusively to the UK property, construction, and related professional services sectors through qualitative methodologies and a proprietary client portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Client perception research
• Customer satisfaction research
• Post-occupancy evaluation
• Property market research
• Construction industry research

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Services: Bespoke customer satisfaction and client perception research services delivered to clients in the property, construction, and related professional sectors. Services include client perception research, project reviews, post-occupation audits, lost enquirer studies, and customer/occupier satisfaction research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Building Understanding is a specialist research agency that delivers bespoke client perception and customer satisfaction research for the UK property, construction, and related professional sectors. Its core offerings span five research product areas — client perception research, project reviews, post-occupation audits, lost enquirer studies, and customer/occupier satisfaction research — delivered through flexible methodologies including face-to-face and telephone interviews, online questionnaires, focus groups, and depth interviews. Clients access their data and reports through a proprietary web-based Client Portal.

Product overview

Building Understanding is a specialist research agency offering a suite of five core research services for the property and construction industries: Client Perception Research (depth qualitative one-to-one interviews), Project Reviews (telephone interviews for service delivery feedback), Post Occupation Audits (face-to-face qualitative research with occupiers), Lost Enquirer Studies (telephone interviews to understand lost business), and Customer/Occupier Satisfaction Research (customer feedback measurement). All services are bespoke and delivered through flexible methodologies including focus groups, personal interviews, and online questionnaires. Clients access data and reports through the company's Client Portal platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Client Perception Research Depth qualitative research service conducted through one-to-one conversations using discussion guides to uncover insights about business relationships and client needs that may not emerge in day-to-day interactions. Interviews are typically conducted face-to-face where geography allows. Targeted at businesses in the property, construction, and related professional sectors that want to see their business through the eyes of their clients.
• Project Reviews Short telephone interviews, generally not exceeding 30 minutes, that gather client feedback on various aspects of service delivery either midway through a project or at project completion. Performance ratings are collected to assist benchmarking between projects, divisions, and teams. Designed for construction and property businesses measuring client experience on specific engagements.
• Post Occupation Audits Highly qualitative research project conducted through face-to-face interviews and discussion groups to gather feedback from employees and other stakeholders on their experience moving into a building, creating a baseline for measuring incremental improvements. Includes the BUS Methodology for benchmarking against appropriate standards for building type and geographical location, contributing towards BREEAM, LEED, WELL, NABERS, and Soft Landings certifications.
• Lost Enquirer Studies Research designed to capture reasons why an organisation did not secure business from a potential client. Short telephone interviews are conducted with respondents who have little vested interest in providing feedback, helping property and construction businesses understand why prospects chose competitors.
• Customer/Occupier Satisfaction Research

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BUS Methodology Partner NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding Understanding is a member of the BUS Methodology Partner Network. They offer the BUS Methodology as part of their Post Occupancy Evaluation services. The BUS Methodology is a post-occupancy evaluation tool involving self-completion questionnaires and benchmarking against appropriate standards for building type and geographical location. It is a recognized approach contributing towards BREEAM, LEED, WELL Standard, NABERS, and Soft Landings certifications. The methodology was created from thirty years of continuous development in building use studies.
• Market Research SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding Understanding is a Company Partner of the Market Research Society, the world's largest trade association for the research sector. Companies with MRS Company Partner status abide by the MRS Code of Conduct, providing assurance that the organisation operates at a trusted level. This accreditation demonstrates commitment to industry standards and ethical research practices.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• London Research: London Research is a UK-based B2B market research firm specializing in the property and construction sectors, providing customer perception, demand generation, and sector insights — closely matching Building Understanding's vertical focus and research methodology.
• Acuity Research: Acuity Research is a UK-based customer experience and satisfaction research firm offering bespoke quantitative and qualitative research services — directly comparable to Building Understanding's client perception and satisfaction research offerings.
• Bryter Research: Bryter Research is a UK-based specialist B2B market research agency serving multiple verticals, with a comparable bespoke project-based delivery model and similar size to Building Understanding.
• Censuswide: Censuswide is a UK-based full-service market research agency offering bespoke quantitative and qualitative research for B2B and B2B2C clients, comparable in operating model and methodology stack to Building Understanding.
• BMG Research: BMG Research is a UK-based market and social research agency offering bespoke and tracker studies across sectors, with comparable methodology mix and consultative delivery model to Building Understanding.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Kantar is a global research and insights giant with established property and construction practices, capable of delivering customer satisfaction and brand perception research at far larger scale than Building Understanding, and a frequent competitor on enterprise mandates.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research and consulting firm with a UK customer experience practice serving property, real estate, and construction clients — offering an overlapping service portfolio to Building Understanding at much larger scale.
• Savanta: Savanta is a UK-based research and consulting firm offering bespoke market research and customer experience studies across multiple verticals, providing direct overlap with Building Understanding's services from a broader portfolio base.
• JLL Research: JLL's UK research division delivers property market intelligence and occupier/client insights as part of a global commercial real estate services platform — overlapping with Building Understanding's occupier satisfaction and property perception research.
• Knight Frank Research: Knight Frank operates a UK property research function producing market intelligence and client insights for its property services business, overlapping with Building Understanding's property and construction research domain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Building Understanding