Dean Ward

Dean Ward is the founder and Managing Director of the DCW Group, a professional residential and commercial development consultancy which assists, guides and supports its clients through every stage of a development project. Taking care of the myriad of technicalities that they are likely to encounter, the DCW Group, with Dean at the helm, brings every vision to life.

Dean is an industry expert in both land and sales strategy, having worked for a number of large businesses including Barratt Homes, Countrywide Residential Development, Wates Residential on the Cardiff Living Project (CHPP). With over 17 years of experience in the industry, Dean has a vast and detailed understanding of all aspects of residential development.

After starting out in the industry, Dean began a fascinating journey within the property sector. Initially, Dean worked as a junior negotiator in a small estate agency practice, quickly learning the ropes. However, Dean soon realised that estate agency wasn’t the path that he wanted to take. Fortunately, he was approached by Barratt Homes in Bristol after being successfully ‘mystery shopped’ by their then sales manager – customer service has clearly always been of paramount importance to Dean. This subsequently allowed him to handle land, working to bridge the gap between agent and developer; from there, Dean’s path was paved.

Dean is now the proud owner of a consultancy business with the knowledge and experience to help other companies succeed. He has always been passionate about seeing projects through to fruition; witnessing a plot of land be transformed into a development. Dean is driven to be involved with creating, inspiring and redefining the industry as we know it.

The DCW Group was formed in November 2018; harnessing his experience and drive, Dean decided that he could instil change, bringing something new and sought after to the industry. The DCW Group is unique in that it specialises in market intelligence, land sourcing and open-market sales consultancy. They’re a team based on knowledge and experience – they really have “been there and got the T-shirt” as Dean says. Priding itself on being honest, credible and professional.

Since its launch, the DCW Group has expanded much more quickly than anticipated; thanks to Dean’s involvement with the NatWest Accelerator programme, this gave the team invaluable support, the DCW Group is now looking to go international.

Discussing his collaboration with Built Environment Networking and what inspired him to pursue this partnership, Dean says:

“BE have an expansive contact base and are aligned with key industry players. Meanwhile, more importantly, their subject matters are in line with DCW’s values. I am incredibly excited to work alongside a platform which promotes powerful, transformative conversations. I am passionate about cross subsidy delivery, the assessment of existing land assets and creating strategies to develop more houses whilst supporting SME’s – I am thankful that BE gives me another platform from which I can discuss these topics, helping to drive wider change.”

When it comes to the future of the property sector, Dean is sure of one thing: the need for housing will always grow and the amount of redundant office buildings will become increasingly apparent. He predicts a surge in office to residential conversions in England and, hopefully, the implementation of planning development in Wales. The use of sufficient technology will facilitate this as the industry goes digital; something DCW is proud to be a part of.

Dean continues “I am excited to work with Built Environment Networking at such a pertinent stage in the DCW Group’s growth and expansion, sharing my unique expertise on topics that are close to both mine and the nation’s hearts. With a number of fascinating webinars lined up, I look forward to meeting BE’s extensive contacts, sparking fruitful conversations and collaborations as we move towards a more prosperous future for the property sector together.”

To find out more about the DCW Group visit www.dcwgroup.co.uk.