When it comes to land quality, there’s a clear advantage to working with a business who combines consultancy expertise with hands-on remediation experience. At Geo2, we’ve costed and delivered a vast array of regeneration and remediation projects, and this in-house expertise directly informs how we help clients make confident, informed decisions about brownfield sites. 

We’re excited to share all the knowledge we've gathered on cost appraisals with the launch of ORCA (Outline Remediation Cost Assessment) – our expert tool for high-level remediation cost estimates. 

ORCA streamlines the challenges of brownfield projects by providing fast, reliable cost estimates, helping you make confident decisions even with limited information.

Buying and developing brownfield sites can be tricky, especially when buyers don’t have the chance to dig deeper—literally.

Vendors might only share basic information on land quality or give limited time for due diligence, leaving buyers to work with incomplete information or having to caveat costs for potential ground risks in their bids, an approach which could mean missing out on great opportunities when others might not be as risk averse.

That’s where ORCA comes in. Based on our extensive, hands-on experience, ORCA gives you a quick, high-level estimate of clean-up costs and common ground-related development expenses. It helps you make smarter, well-informed decisions, even with limited site data.

ORCA helps you weigh up potential sites by breaking things down into three straightforward scenarios:

1. Proceed with confidence: The outlined budget is manageable, and the purchase can move forward with clarity.
2. Proceed with caution: The potential costs or associated risks might make the deal less competitive or appealing. This could mean renegotiating, adjusting the offer, or digging deeper into investigations.
3. Walk away: If the estimated costs and risks are just too high, ORCA helps you make the call to step back before spending more time or money. 

ORCA isn’t meant to replace full ground investigations, but it’s a great tool for making early decisions. It can leverage ground investigation data where available or provide insights based on robust desk studies when such data is absent.

While its results come with some caveats and should be confirmed with more detailed investigations later, it’s an incredibly useful tool when time is tight and when quick decisions are needed. 

For developers, investors, and co-professionals navigating the complexities of brownfield redevelopment, ORCA offers clarity and confidence in the face of uncertainty.

It’s our way of helping you manage risks, seize opportunities and move forwards with projects early in their conception.