Mosaic Founder and Managing Director, Brook Monahan, shares his perspective in the Autumn edition of UDIA’s Establish Magazine on the strategic decision to form Mosaic Construction—our in-house building arm created to deliver greater certainty, quality, and assurance for our customers’ investments.
This integrated development and construction model continues to underpin Mosaic’s ability to deliver large-scale projects with the precision, care, and craftsmanship that define our work, while effectively navigating the complexities and risks of the construction industry.
The builder-developer model has gained significant popularity, as rising costs and industry volatility has demonstrated that traditional development models are no longer the best approach to construction.
The collapse of multiple builders in recent years has underscored the importance of control, quality, and financial resilience – factors that integrating construction in-house can directly address if, and only if, it is done well.
For over a decade, developers have grappled with supply chain disruptions, contractor insolvencies, and fluctuating material costs. While many are only now recognising the need for an integrated approach (out of necessity), Mosaic embraced this model long ago – not as a reactive shift, but as a strategic decision to build greater control over quality, program, defects, and ultimately, purchaser experience.
Bringing construction under our own roof a long time ago has allowed us to safeguard quality, protect our customers’ investments, and ensure the enduring value of our projects. Unlike those newly adopting this model, we have spent years refining our construction capability, evolving through experience and an unwavering commitment to mastering the complexities of delivering high density residential projects.
This is not an arena for the inexperienced or faint-hearted. Construction is an intricate, high-risk discipline that demands deep expertise, risk tolerance, balance sheet, and a strong commitment to excellence.
Mosaic’s in-house construction capability isn’t just about mitigating risk – it’s about creating certainty. Construction risk will never be completely eradicated. Certainty that timelines will be met. And certainty that we will always be accountable for what we build, long after completion. This is not a commitment we take lightly, given the substantial financial investment required to achieve this, along with the enduring financial liabilities associated with being able to deliver on these promises to clients.
The relentless rise in material and labour costs has placed immense pressure on the construction industry, particularly on third party builders operating on narrow thin margins and inflexible contracts.
Many have been unable to absorb these cost increases, leading to a wave of contractor failures that leave developers – and ultimately their customers – exposed to delays, financial strain, declining quality standards, and uncertainty.
By managing our own construction business, Mosaic has the advantage of complete visibility and control over procurement, labour management, and project timelines. This allows us to plan strategically, negotiate directly with suppliers, and navigate cost fluctuations without compromising on quality or delivery.
Like any business model, the builder-developer approach carries financial risks – in this case significant risk. You have to take into consideration the working capital requirements, liquid balance sheet demands and stringent cash flow management. Construction is inherently capital intensive, and without rigorous financial discipline, a developer can quickly become overstretched and run into financial troubles. We see this as a growing risk to the industry in the years ahead as more developers try to build internal teams and take this path without a deep understanding of the capability, resilience or balance sheet required.
This said, when executed well, the model offers greater risk control, enhanced quality assurance, and long-term project certainty far outweighing the challenges for us, but it has taken us a long time to arrive at this point.
Mosaic mitigates these risks through a disciplined and conservative financial strategy, underpinned by strong governance and a long term sustainability mindset.
In our case, we specialise in high end, infill residential apartments, where high levels of capability, craftsmanship, and attention to detail are non negotiable. Managing construction in house allows us to uphold our exacting standards at every stage – ensuring every detail is executed with intent and quality is never compromised.
Larger scale projects with complex design elements also benefit significantly from this approach. These developments demand an extraordinary level of coordination, expertise, and execution – qualities that are deeply embedded in our ethos.
The transition from developer to builder certainly isn’t for everyone. It requires a fundamentally different skill set, operational structure, and risk tolerance. Construction is highly complex, capital intensive, and subject to ever evolving regulatory, safety, labour and compliance challenges.
Managing trades, supply chains, and subcontractor relationships at scale – while maintaining unwavering quality and strict adherence to timelines – is an entirely different discipline from traditional development. It demands a deep in house talent pool of highly skilled professionals, from site managers and engineers, to design managers, contract administrators, procurement specialists, to safety, quality and compliance experts. Without the right leadership, governance, and financial discipline, the risks can quickly outweigh the benefits.
Many developers attempting to internalise construction without the necessary foundations will likely find themselves overstretched at some point – leading to cost blowouts, delays, and, in some cases, project failures. Importantly, the responsibility of a builder developer doesn’t end with project completion. The obligations tied to the structural defect period, particularly in light of evolving legislation, must be carefully considered.
Developers who are genuinely committed to the quality of their product and the long term experience of their customers will continue to see the value in integrating construction, so long as they have the capability and risk tolerance to do so. Or alternatively, building lasting relationships with external builders based on aligned values and a more equitable risk sharing arrangement is likely to be a more sustainable model for many developers.
With over 20 years of experience spanning property development, design, construction, finance, and funds management, Brook brings a deep well of expertise to his role as Founder and Managing Director of Mosaic Property Group. His career began in agribusiness before he established a series of successful ventures, including a meat company, a development and construction business, a funds management firm, and a legal practice.
Beyond Mosaic, Brook is also the Co-Founder of M Tribe Capital and the Mosaic Foundation, which he leads. He is driven by the belief that lasting business success is built on constantly delivering on the values and trust that underpin the Mosaic brand, along with a genuine commitment to helping others less fortunate than himself—a vision he shares with his dedicated team of over 300 people.
Mosaic Construction remains focused on delivering quality projects, with Residents set to settle into The Prescott by Mosaic following its completion later this month. Construction is underway at both The Bedford by Mosaic and Sophia by Mosaic, and excitement is building as we approach key milestones in our other ongoing projects.
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