Project Management Only Service
You have the trades.
We bring the structure.
RCB Design & Build acts as your Principal Contractor and Project Manager — taking full responsibility for coordination, CDM compliance, quality control, and delivery — while you retain your existing contractors and supply chain.
What is the Management Only service?
Most construction projects don't fail because of a lack of good tradespeople. They fail because no one is running the project with discipline — schedules slip, trades clash, variations go undocumented, quality isn't checked before the next trade moves in.
Under this arrangement, RCB provides your Principal Contractor (legally appointed, CDM 2015 compliant), your Project Manager, your programme, your quality oversight, your site coordination, your client reporting, and your structured handover.
You provide your contractors, trades, and specialist subcontractors. Your trades. Our structure. Better outcomes.
Who is this service for?
Clients who have skin in the game — trades they trust, relationships they've built — but who need a professional management structure wrapped around them.
Property investors & portfolio landlords
Coordinate refurbishments and upgrades across multiple units using your own trusted trades, with a professional management structure providing compliance, quality control, and programme discipline.
Residential developers
Retain your contractor relationships while having a properly appointed Principal Contractor to satisfy planning conditions, lender requirements, or Building Control expectations.
Private clients with an existing builder
Keep your contractor, but add an accountable management and compliance layer above the day-to-day build — particularly valuable on significant extensions, loft conversions, and refurbishments.
Overseas and remote property owners
Cannot be on-site? We act as your trusted management presence, working in your interest throughout, with structured reporting and full accountability.
What RCB handles
Pre-construction coordination
We review drawings, technical information, and structural input before work starts. We identify gaps and conflicts before they become on-site problems, and establish the CDM pre-construction information file.
Programme and sequencing
A properly sequenced schedule of works — accounting for trade dependencies, lead times, drying times, inspection hold points, and client decision windows. We track weekly and adjust proactively.
Principal Contractor duties — CDM 2015
Where a formally appointed Principal Contractor is required, RCB takes on that statutory role: Construction Phase Plan, health and safety coordination, welfare and site-access standards, and the Health and Safety File at handover.
Trade coordination and supervision
We sequence your trades' access, manage their interfaces, run site progress meetings, and ensure they are working to the right information at the right time. Trades come to us — not to you.
Quality control and sign-off
We inspect at key hold points before the programme advances. Snagging is managed progressively. Work that does not meet the required standard is formally instructed for remediation before sign-off.
Variation and change control
All scope changes are processed through a formal variation procedure. Nothing is agreed verbally and charged later. Every variation is documented, priced, approved, and recorded before instruction.
Client reporting
Structured, regular project reports covering programme, quality observations, risk items, variations, upcoming decisions, and financial position. You are never in the dark.
Completion and handover
Thorough practical completion inspection, snagging list management, Health and Safety File compilation, warranties and test certificates, and a structured handover pack.
Why use RCB — rather than self-managing?
The issue is rarely the quality of individual tradespeople. It is the absence of a professional management layer. Here is what changes when RCB manages your project:
Trades stop going directly to you with questions, problems, and requests. We handle it. Your time is protected.
CDM compliance moves from a liability risk to a managed, documented process.
The programme becomes a real working tool. When something threatens it, we identify it and respond — before it cascades.
Variations get controlled. The final account is not a surprise.
Quality is checked progressively. Defects discovered during the works are cheaper and faster to fix than defects discovered after completion.
You receive structured reporting. Decisions are framed clearly. The information you need reaches you in time to act on it.
How it works
Initial inquiry
Contact us by phone, email, or the website. Tell us about the project, your existing trades, and what management input you need.
Qualification call
A focused conversation to understand the scope, programme, complexity, and compliance requirements. We establish whether Management Only is the right fit.
Management proposal
A clear written proposal covering our scope, responsibilities, management fee basis, key programme assumptions, and next steps.
Pre-construction
On appointment, we review all available information, build the programme, establish CDM documentation, and coordinate your trades for mobilisation.
Active management
We manage the project throughout — coordinating trades, controlling quality, tracking programme, managing variations, and reporting at agreed intervals.
Completion and handover
We manage practical completion, close out the snagging list, compile all documentation, and deliver a structured handover. The project closes cleanly.
Frequently asked questions
Do we still have a contract with our trades directly?
Yes. Your trades remain contracted to you. RCB's role is as the appointed Principal Contractor and Project Manager — we manage and coordinate, but we are not the employer of your trades. The management agreement is between you and RCB.
What if we only have some trades in place?
We can help source or recommend trades for specific packages, and where appropriate draw on our own network of vetted subcontractors. This is discussed and agreed in the pre-construction phase.
Does RCB's management role satisfy CDM 2015 Principal Contractor requirements?
Yes. Where CDM 2015 applies, RCB formally takes on the Principal Contractor role in writing, with a full Construction Phase Plan, pre-construction information file, and active health and safety management throughout. Our CDM appointment is active and documented, not nominal.
Do we need planning permission or drawings in place before approaching RCB?
Not necessarily. We can support from early pre-construction stages where design is still being developed. The more information available, the more precise our programme and management plan will be from the outset.
What reporting will we receive?
Typically a written project report weekly or fortnightly, covering programme, quality, risks, variations, and upcoming decisions. For larger projects, we may hold formal progress meetings on site or remotely. Always agreed in the management proposal.
What happens if a trade underperforms?
We manage that relationship and that conversation. We issue formal instructions, set remediation deadlines, and advise clearly if a replacement is needed. You are not left managing a difficult contractor conversation alone.
Bring us the project. We'll bring the structure.
If you have trades in place but need a Principal Contractor, a Project Manager, and a management system that actually works — we want to hear from you.