Continuing with our popular staff spotlights - which are a great way for you to get to know the people you talk to on the phone or at your development sites, we talk to Graduate Surveyor; Charlie Webb

Straight out of University, Charlie Webb came on board with Onyx in 2023 as a Graduate Surveyor. He studied Building Surveying as part of his degree at the University of Portsmouth, where he took a year-long placement as a Quantity Surveyor at a groundworks contractor. During this placement, he learned about estimating construction costs and groundworks packages, as well as large residential projects.

Charlie says that his love of construction came as early as 14 when he witnessed his parents build their own home. He comments that he would help with various trades on-site by carrying materials around and cleaning up. This led him to choose a casual job at a local chartered surveyors, where he shadowed the surveyors on valuations and bespoke condition surveys while studying at college.

This passion for the industry, coupled with his strong educational background and work experience placements has brought him to Onyx as our Graduate Surveyor. Charlie’s primary function is to monitor our development sites’ progress and process drawdowns.

In his spare time, Charlie is an avid rugby fan, and will regularly be either playing rugby for Havant RFC or watching a match on the weekend. He is also a keen runner and is in training for a half marathon.

We asked Charlie why he loves what he does, and what he thinks the future holds in our industry.

What aspect of your career do you like the most?

Charlie said: “I like the fact that my week is spread between the office and visiting clients' developments. As I am early in my career, I can learn a lot from our developers about construction methods and the challenges they face.”

What do you like most about working at Onyx?

Charlie said: “I enjoy the work environment in the office. I have settled in quickly with my colleagues and I also enjoy the amazing offices that we have, which makes work enjoyable. I genuinely look forward to Mondays after the weekend!”

What are your thoughts on the current market conditions?

Charlie said: “Everyone is currently feeling the squeeze at the moment but I believe that we are past the worst point and things are starting to look better, this includes our developers too.”

How do current market conditions affect your work?

Charlie said: “Onyx Money has become increasingly busy over the last year. This is in part due to our natural growth as a company but more importantly, our loans are more affordable in comparison to our competitors. As Onyx Money is a private equity firm, our cost of borrowing does not increase in line with the base rate set by the Bank of England. As such, our loan offering has not increased like that seen on the high street.”

What is the most common question you are asked from clients and what is your typical answer?

Charlie said: “I often get asked by developers if they can increase their drawdown, or drawdown earlier than anticipated. We operate on a 21-day drawdown period to ensure we have the funds available and to organise site visits around our other clients. However, we understand that in construction, unexpected costs arise and when it is necessary we will send drawdowns in shorter periods. As a company we try to assist our clients as best we can.”

What does the future of the property industry look like in your opinion?

Charlie said: “In the future, I think that the majority of new homes will be constructed using a modular build method. These homes will be built in sections in factories and pieced together on-site, with only the groundworks and landscaping packages that continue in traditional methods.

By constructing the superstructure, internal services, and finishes in a factory, you are avoiding bad weather conditions that are regular but inconsistent here in the UK and also speeding up the process of construction by having a seamless production line with no downtime for trades. This will hopefully solve the housing shortage problem in the UK and lead to house prices falling and allow first-time buyers to get on the ladder.”

Onyx is proud to be growing from strength to strength, and with this growth, we have seen great talent come through our doors and become valuable members of our development finance, commercial lending, and bridging loan teams. If you would like to be a part of this team, apply for one of our vacancies here.