Case study
Using planning intelligence and AI to transform construction sales and help self-build dreams become reality.
| Region/Nation | North West |
|---|---|
| Sector | Construction |
| Programme | Start Up Loans |
| Partner |
The business operates across England and Wales and has developed a technology platform built around planning intelligence and the residential construction journey.
Its B2B platform, Leadflow, helps manufacturers, suppliers and other construction businesses identify relevant residential projects earlier and turn planning activity into actionable commercial opportunities.
Alongside this, The Modern Builder is developing its consumer-facing platform to help self-builders, homeowners and SME developers navigate the journey from planning through to finding suitable construction teams, suppliers, finance and professional services.
Through its commercial relationship with Planning Portal, The Modern Builder accesses planning intelligence at an early stage and combines this with AI and additional data sources to identify, enrich and prioritise potential opportunities.
The commercial model is already demonstrating encouraging early traction, with the business securing enterprise customers and developing a growing pipeline across manufacturers, suppliers and other companies serving the residential construction market.
Rhys set up the business after more than a decade working in construction. He started his career as an electrician before studying project management and progressing into construction project management.
He had also always dreamed of running his own business.
Before The Modern Builder, Rhys established his own construction consultancy and became involved in the delivery of a modular construction project at a golf resort in Kilmarnock, exposing him to off-site construction and modern methods of construction for the first time.
Northwest-based Rhys-Evans Edet is a director and co-founder of The Modern Builder, a construction technology business using planning intelligence, AI and other data sources to help construction businesses identify residential demand earlier while making the construction journey easier for homeowners and developers.
That experience helped Rhys identify a wider problem within the industry: construction businesses often spend significant amounts of time and money trying to identify viable projects and reach customers early enough in the decision-making process.
Sensing an opportunity to create something bigger, Rhys established The Modern Builder in 2023 with the objective of creating a more predictable way for traditional and off-site construction businesses to identify and win new projects.
Knowing he needed additional industry experience alongside him, Rhys sought support from experienced construction entrepreneur David Johnson, who is now his co-founder and early-stage investor.
Rhys said:
David’s experience has played a huge role in shaping The Modern Builder.
The Modern Builder operates in the UK’s multi-billion-pound residential construction sector, helping suppliers identify and connect with customers at the earliest stages of their construction projects.
Our experience in construction showed us that one of the biggest challenges for suppliers is identifying real demand early enough. By the time many opportunities become visible through traditional channels, important commercial decisions may already have been made.
We want to help construction businesses identify the right opportunities, understand who is behind them and engage at a much earlier stage.
The entrepreneurial pair used their first Start Up Loans to help establish the business and develop its technology.
As The Modern Builder developed, Rhys and David identified a larger opportunity around planning data and commercial intelligence and subsequently returned for second Start Up Loans to support the next phase of product development and commercial growth.
Since then, the business has continued developing its technology and strengthening its industry relationships.
It has also brought onboard Simon Mahoney, former Managing Director of construction intelligence provider Barbour ABI for more than 25 years, as an adviser.
Rhys said:
Start Up Loans supported us at a stage when accessing traditional finance as an early-stage technology business was difficult.
They allowed us to invest in the platform, develop the technology and prove elements of the commercial model.
We are now at a very different stage. The technology is live, enterprise customers are using the platform and our focus is on making the commercial model increasingly repeatable and scalable.
The Modern Builder’s B2B technology is designed to act as an extension of a construction company’s sales and business development operation.
Rather than simply providing planning data, the company aims to combine planning intelligence, AI and additional data sources to help customers identify the people and organisations behind construction projects and focus their sales teams on the most relevant opportunities.
Rhys added:
Data by itself is not enough. The real value is helping businesses understand which opportunities matter, who the likely buyer is and when they should engage.
Our aim is to progressively enrich the information around projects so sales teams can spend less time searching for opportunities and more time engaging the right customers.
Alongside the B2B platform, The Modern Builder continues to develop its consumer proposition.
Construction can be a fragmented process, with homeowners potentially needing architects, structural engineers, finance providers, warranty providers, builders and numerous specialist suppliers to successfully take a project from planning through to completion.
Rhys said:
The Modern Builder should help homeowners and developers understand what they need to do next, connect with trusted construction businesses and manage more of their project journey in one place.
At the same time, the information generated through that journey can help us understand construction demand better and create more valuable opportunities for the businesses using our enterprise platform.
The business also aims to create wider social value by giving smaller construction companies access to data and technology that can help them compete more effectively for new work.
As The Modern Builder grows, the founders also expect the business to create skilled employment opportunities in Greater Manchester across technology, data, sales and construction-related roles.
Off-site construction and modern methods of construction remain an important part of The Modern Builder’s origins and wider construction ecosystem.
Rhys said:
With off-site construction you have an opportunity to improve cost certainty, build faster and reduce waste because more of the construction process takes place in a controlled environment.
But the technology we are building is designed to support the wider construction market.
Whether somebody chooses traditional construction, timber frame, SIPs, modular or another building system, the underlying challenge remains the same: connecting genuine demand with the right businesses capable of delivering the project.
While Rhys and David have significant long-term ambitions for The Modern Builder, their immediate focus is on proving and scaling the model across the UK.
As planning and construction processes become increasingly digitised around the world, Rhys believes the underlying technology could ultimately be applied to other international markets.
Rhys said:
Our ambition is significant, but our immediate focus is very disciplined.
We want to prove that we can build a highly valuable and repeatable construction intelligence business in the UK first.
If we can consistently help construction businesses identify demand earlier, engage the right customers and win more work, we believe there is an opportunity to take that model into other markets in the future.
Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans, at the British Business Bank, said:
The Modern Builder is one of the thousands of businesses Start Up Loans has supported and, with the expansion in the eligibility criteria opening Start Up Loans support to more businesses, we will be able to help more early-stage businesses than ever before.
As a technology business with sustainability credentials, The Modern Builder is a great example of the kind of business we can and want to support and we admire the ambition of the founders to scale their business.
With both directors now having reached the limit of their Start Up Loans allowance, they are looking towards other forms of growth finance, potentially including venture and angel investment, to support the next stage of The Modern Builder’s development.
If you want to find out more about your finance options and whether Start Up Loans could be right for your business, you can use the British Business Bank's free Finance Finder Tool
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